Artificial intelligence voice recognition apparatus and voice recognition system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an artificial intelligence voice recognition apparatus including: a microphone configured to receive a voice command; a memory configured to store a first voice recognition algorithm; a communication module configured to transmit the voice command to a server system and receive first voice recognition algorithm-related update data from the server system; and a controller configured to perform control to update the first voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in the memory, based on the first voice recognition algorithm-related update data. Accordingly, the voice recognition apparatus is able to provide a voice recognition algorithm fitting to a user&#39;s characteristics.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/960,023, filed on 23 Apr. 2018, which claims the priority benefit ofKorean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0051836, filed on, 21 Apr. 2017 inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a voice recognition apparatus and avoice recognition system, and more particularly to a voice recognitionapparatus and a voice recognition system which provide a voicerecognition algorithm fitting to a user's characteristics.

2. Description of the Related Art

A voice recognition apparatus is an apparatus for performing a voicerecognition function.

Meanwhile, air conditioners, washing machines, cleaners, and other homeappliances used in a specific space, for examples, at home or at anoffice, perform distinct functions and operations upon a user'smanipulation.

To operate a home appliance, such as the air conditioner, a user needsto manipulate buttons provided in a main body of the home appliance oruse a remote control device, such as a remote controller.

However, even when using a remote controller, the user needs to selectand push a key of a desired function. Thus, if the user is in a darkindoor space, additional lighting is necessary for the user to see theremote controller and its keys.

Under this background, there are increasing efforts to study andinvestigate the way of controlling a home appliance based on voicerecognition.

In Related Art 1 (Korean Patent Application Publication No.10-1999-00069703), a remote controller for an air conditioner includes avoice input unit and a signal processing unit to generate and transmit amanipulation signal in response to voice recognition.

Related art 2 (Korean Patent Application Publication No.10-2006-0015092) discloses: converting an input voice signal into adigital signal and a text; checking if a coinciding control command isstored in a database; if the coinciding control command is stored,controlling each device of an air conditioner; and, if the coincidingcontrol command is not stored, extracting a keyword and controlling eachdevice of the air conditioner in accordance with a control commandassociated with the keyword.

However, there are limitations in system resources that each apparatus,such as a remote controller and an air conditioner, is able to provide.In particular, in order to recognize a natural language, not just fewsimple words, a great amount of computation is required, which cannot beimplemented by a module embedded in an individual apparatus.

Voice recognition techniques disclosed in Related art 1 and Related art2 have limitations in recognizing and processing voice commands whichare input in the form of various natural languages by users across theworld.

Thus, there is need of a method for recognizing a natural language,without a limitation to system resources of an individual apparatus, andfor controlling a home appliance conveniently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a voice recognition apparatus and a voicerecognition system, which provide a voice recognition algorithm fittingto a user's characteristics.

The present invention provides a voice recognition apparatus and a voicerecognition system, which is able to perform natural languagerecognition through communication with a server system.

In one general aspect of the present invention, the above and otherobjects can be accomplished by the provision of a voice recognitionapparatus including: a microphone configured to receive a voice command;a memory configured to store a first voice recognition algorithm; acommunication module configured to transmit the voice command to aserver system and receive first voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data from the server system; and a controller configured toperform control to update the first voice recognition algorithm, whichis stored in the memory, based on the first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data.

In another general aspect of the present invention, the above and otherobjects can be accomplished by the provision of a voice recognitionsystem including: a voice recognition apparatus configured to store afirst voice recognition algorithm and transmit a voice command; and aserver system comprising a storage unit configured to store a secondvoice recognition algorithm, a communication module configured toreceive the voice command, and a processor configured to recognize thevoice command based on the second voice recognition algorithm, whereinthe server system transmits first voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data to the voice recognition apparatus, and updates a secondvoice recognition algorithm, which is stored in the server system, basedon second voice recognition algorithm-related update data, and whereinthe voice recognition apparatus updates the first voice recognitionalgorithm, which is stored in the voice recognition apparatus, based onthe first voice recognition algorithm-related update data.

The voice recognition apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes: a microphone configured to receive a voicecommand; a memory configured to store a first voice recognitionalgorithm; a communication module configured to transmit the voicecommand to a server system and receive first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data from the server system; and a controllerconfigured to perform control to update the first voice recognitionalgorithm, which is stored in the memory, based on the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data. Accordingly, the voicerecognition apparatus is able to provide a voice recognition algorithmfitting to a user's characteristics.

In particular, since the voice recognition apparatus performs update byreceiving user voice recognition algorithm-related update data from theserver system, it is possible to provide a voice recognition algorithmoptimized for a user's characteristics.

In addition, the voice recognition apparatus may periodically ornon-periodically receive update data of a voice recognition algorithmfitting to a user's characteristics.

In addition, since the voice recognition apparatus performs update byreceiving voice recognition algorithm-related update data which isimproved through the server system, it is possible to solve a problemthat updating a voice recognition algorithm stored in a module isdifficult more than updating a voice recognition algorithm stored in theserver system.

In addition, due to update of a voice recognition algorithm, the voicerecognition apparatus may improve user voice recognition performance.

In addition, the voice recognition apparatus requests versioninformation from the server system, and, when a version stored in theserver system is the latest version, the voice recognition apparatusperforms update by receiving update data, and therefore, the voicerecognition apparatus is able to provide an improved voice recognitionfunction by keeping the voice recognition algorithm stored, stored inthe apparatus, with the latest version all the time.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the presentinvention, it is possible to recognize and process a natural languageefficiently.

In addition, according to at least one embodiment of the presentinvention, it is possible to provide User Experience (UX) consideringvarious situations which may occur in a voice recognition process and ahome appliance control process.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention includes: a voice recognition apparatus configuredto store a first voice recognition algorithm and transmit a voicecommand; and a server system comprising a storage unit configured tostore a second voice recognition algorithm, a communication moduleconfigured to receive the voice command, and a processor configured torecognize the voice command based on the second voice recognitionalgorithm, wherein the server system transmits first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data to the voice recognition apparatus, andupdates a second voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in theserver system, based on second voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data, and wherein the voice recognition apparatus updates thefirst voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in the voicerecognition apparatus, based on the first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data to thereby provide a voice recognitionalgorithm fitting to a user's characteristics.

In particular, the voice recognition system updates a voice recognitionalgorithm through a server system, thereby enabled to carry outintegrated update management.

In addition, since simple voice recognition is performed by the voicerecognition apparatus and sophisticated voice recognition, such asnatural language processing, is performed by the server system, thevoice recognition system is able to quickly respond to a simple command,regardless of the server system, while keeping advantages of naturalvoice control.

In addition, since the voice recognition system utilizes a user regionalvoice recognition algorithm dependent upon regional language difference,it is possible to solve a problem of voice recognition technologies thatthe same voice recognition performance cannot be achieved using onesoftware due to variation of recognition depending on a regionallanguage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a home network system according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a voice recognition apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a front view (a) of a voice recognition apparatus and across-sectional view (b) cut along A1-A1 shown in (a);

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6A is a right side view of a voice recognition apparatus;

FIG. 6B are cross-sectional view of a grill viewed from each pointindicated in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating control relationship betweenmajor components of a voice recognition apparatus;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a cover;

FIG. 9 shows a cover from which a window is removed;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the case where a voice input PCB is yetto be coupled to a window support;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the case where a voice input PCB iscoupled to a window support;

FIG. 12A is a perspective view showing an upper surface of a windowsupport;

FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing a bottom surface of a windowsupport;

FIG. 12C is a right side view of a window support;

FIG. 12D is a bottom view of a window support;

FIG. 13 shows a front side of a cover shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view cut along B3-B3 shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view cut along A3-A3 shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 14C is a cross-sectional view cut along C3-C3 shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 14D is a cross-sectional view cut along D3-D3 shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a right side view of a cover;

FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view cut along F1-F1 shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view cut along F2-F2 shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 shows the case where a window support is removed from anassembly shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 18 shows the case where a display is removed from the assemblyshown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a display PCB;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the bottom surface of a displayPCB;

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of a cover and a volume button;

FIG. 22 shows a plane view (a) and a perspective view (b) of a coverhousing;

FIG. 23 is a rear view of a cover housing;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an upper surface of a main body;

FIG. 25 shows a perspective view showing a bottom surface of the mainbody;

FIG. 26 shows a front-side case (a) and a front-side case (b);

FIG. 27 shows a rear surface of a main body;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing positions of antennas connected to a Wi-Fimodule;

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a position of an antenna connected to aBluetooth module and a position of antenna connected to a Zigbee module;

FIG. 30 is an exploded perspective view of a main body, a heatsink, amain PCB, a base body, and a support rubber;

FIG. 31 is a diagram schematically illustrating a smart home systemincluding a voice recognition server system and a voice recognitionapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32A shows an example of a voice recognition server system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32B shows an example of a voice recognition server system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 33 to 35 are diagrams illustrating a signal flow in a voicerecognition server system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 36 to 38 are diagrams illustrating an example of a signal flow ina voice recognition server system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 39 is an internal block diagram of an example of a server accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 is an interior block diagram illustrating an example of a voicerecognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 41 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 43 to 48 are diagram illustrating an operation method of FIG. 41or 42.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 50 to 51C are diagrams for explaining an operation method of FIG.49.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the inventionwill be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention to the exemplary embodiments.

In the drawings, in order to clearly and briefly describe the invention,parts which are not related to the description will be omitted and, likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In the following description, with respect to constituent elements usedin the following description, the suffixes “module” and “unit” are usedor combined with each other only in consideration of ease in thepreparation of the specification, and do not have or serve as differentmeanings. Accordingly, the suffixes “module” and “unit” may beinterchanged with each other.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

The network system is a group of devices communicating in a specificspace, such as a house or an office, to thereby construct a network. Asan example of the network system, FIG. 1 shows a home network systemestablished at home.

Hereinafter, an apparatus 1 is described as a voice recognitionapparatus (Hub) 1 for a communication network with a sound outputtingfunction, but aspects of the present invention are not limited thereto.Depending on a perspective, the apparatus 1 may refer to a soundoutputting apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 1, the network system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention may include accessories 2, 3 a, and 3 b, a gateway4, an Access Point (AP) 7, and the voice recognition apparatus 1 or asound outputting apparatus.

The accessories 2, 3 a, and 3 b, the gateway 4, the AP 7, and/or thevoice recognition apparatus 1 are enabled to communicate with each otheraccording to a preset protocol, and such communication may be performedbased on technologies such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Zigbee, Z-wave,Bluetooth, etc.

Wi-Fi is originally the brand name of Wi-Fi Alliance, but now it iscommonly used to refer to a wireless communication technology. Wi-Firefers to a series of technologies that supports WLAN connection betweendevices, WLAN connection between device connections (Wi-Fi P2P), andPAN/LAN/WAN configuration according to a standard defined in IEEE802.11. Hereinafter a “Wi-Fi module” will be defined as a deviceperforming wireless communication based on the Wi-Fi technology.

Ethernet is a networking technology according to IEEE 802.3 standard,and it is the most representative standard for LAN hardware, protocol,cable. Ethernet employs the carrier sense multiple access with collisiondetection (CSMA/CD) technique to transmit data. Hereinafter, an“Ethernet module” will be defined as a device performing communicationbased on the Ethernet technology.

Zigbee is a wireless network technology for performing communication byconfiguring a private network using a small-sized low-power digitalradio. Zigbee is a communication technology defined by IEEE 802.15.Zigbee is small-sized and inexpensive and consume relatively less power,so it is drawing attentions as a solution of establishing Ubiquitoussuch as a home network, and is used in short-range communication for ahome network and a building and in industrial facilities automation,logistics, human interface, telematics, environment monitoring,military, etc.

A Zigbee protocol consists of a physical layer, a Medial Access Control(MAC) layer, a network layer, and an application layer. The physicallayer and the MAC layer of Zigbee are defined by the IEEE 802.15.4standard.

The Zigbee network layer supports routing and addressing for a treestructure and a mesh structure, and ZigBee Home Automation PublicProfile and ZigBee Smart Energy Profile are typically used as anapplication profile. In addition, the new Zigbee specification RF4CEdefines a simple network stack for solution of home appliance remotecontrol and start topology. RF4CE uses 2.4 GHz frequency band andprovides encryption using AES-128.

Zigbee is generally used in fields where a long battery life andencryption are required despite a low transmission speed. Zigbee isappropriate for data transmission which is periodic or intermittent datatransmission or simple signal transmission of a sensor and an inputdevice. Zigbee is applied to a wireless lighting switch, a homeelectronic power system, a traffic management system, and any otherprivate or industrial device which requires short-range low-speedcommunication. Zigbee is more simple and inexpensive than other WPANtechnologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Hereinafter, a “Zigbeemodule” will be defined as a device performing wireless communicationbased on the Zigbee technology.

Z-wave is a wireless transmission technology designed for a device whichrequires low power and a low bandwidth, such as home automation andsensor network. Z-wave primarily aims to provide reliable communicationbetween one or more nodes and a control unit on a wireless network.Z-wave consists of a physical layer, an MAC layer, a transmission layer,a routing layer, and an application layer, and uses 2.4 GHz bandwidthwhile providing speed of 9.6 kbps, 40 kbps, and 200 kbps. Hereinafter, a“Z-wave module” will be defined as a device performing wirelesscommunication based on the Z-wave technology.

The accessary 2 may be installed at any position desired by a user, andma be provided with a variety of sensors, such as a temperature sensor,a humidity sensor, a vibration sensor, a proximity sensor, an Infrared(IR) sensor, etc. Information acquired by the sensors may be transmittedto the voice recognition apparatus 1 via a network, and, inversely, asignal for controlling the sensors may be transmitted from the voicerecognition apparatus 1 to the accessary 2.

In addition, the accessary 2 may be enabled to perform remote control ofa nearby home appliance. For example, the accessary 2 may include atransmitting device that transmits an infrared signal in accordance witha control signal transmitted via a network.

Meanwhile, the IR sensor may include a transmitter which emits aninfrared ray, and a receiver which receives a reflected IR ray as aresult of reflection of the IR ray emitted from the transmitter by anobject.

The AP 7 is a device which plays a relay role so that a wireless deviceis connected to a network, and the AP 7 connects a home network to theInternet. The home appliance 5, the voice recognition apparatus 1, theaccessary 3 b, etc. may be connected to the AP 7 in a wired manner(e.g., Ethernet) or in a wireless manner (e.g., Wi-Fi).

The gateway 4 is a device connecting different protocol-based networksso as to exchange information with each other. For example, byconverting a Zigbee (or Z-wave) signal received from the accessary 2 or3 b into a Wi-Fi signal, the gateway 4 may relay the accessary 2 or 3 band the AP 7.

Meanwhile, the home network system may access the Internet via the AP 7,thereby accessing a server 8 which provides a service via the Internet.The server (or Cloud) 8 may be managed by a manufacturer of theaccessary 2, 3 a, or 3 b and/or the voice recognition apparatus 1, aseller, or a service provider in contract with the manufacturer or theseller. The server 8 may store software and data, and the data may bereceived from a home network. In response to a request from the voicerecognition apparatus 1, the server 8 may transmit the stored softwareor data to the home network via the Internet.

The server 8 may exchange information even with a personal computer (PC)accessing the Internet and a mobile terminal, such as a smart phone.Information transmitted from the voice recognition apparatus 1 or theaccessary 2, 3 a, or 3 b may be stored in the server 8, and theinformation may be transmitted to a mobile terminal 6 connected with theserver 8. In addition, even information transmitted from the mobileterminal 6 may be transmitted to the voice recognition apparatus 1 orthe accessary 2, 31, or 3 b via the server 8, and therefore, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 or the accessary 2, 31, or 3 b may be controlledusing the mobile terminal 6.

A smart phone, which is a kind of the mobile terminal 6 and recentlywidely used, provides graphic-based convenient UI, so it is possible tocontrol the accessary 2, 3 a, or 3 b through the UI or process anddisplay information received from the accessary 2, 3 a, or 3 b. Inaddition, by updating an application embedded in the smart phone, afunction able to be implemented using the accessary 2, 3 a, or 3 b maybe expanded or changed. However, controlling the accessary 2, 3 a, or 3b or processing and displaying information received from the accessary2, 3 a, or 3 b are possible simply by the voice recognition apparatus,even without using the mobile terminal 6.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 and the accessories 2, 3 a, and 3 bmay communicate with each other via the gateway 4 and the AP 7.Specifically, a signal output from the accessary 2 or 3 b maytransmitted to the voice recognition apparatus 1 after passing throughthe gateway 4 and the AP 7 in order. On the contrary, information outputfrom the voice recognition apparatus 1 may be transmitted to theaccessary 2 or 3 b after passing through the AP 7 and the gateway 4 inorder. In some implementations, communication between the accessories 2,3 a, and 3 b and the voice recognition apparatus 1 may be possible evenwhen a network is disconnected from the Internet.

Apart from the aforementioned accessories 2, 3 a, and 3 b, various kindsof accessories may be provided. For example, accessories may be an airquality sensor sensing an air quality, a smart plug, a CT sensor, a nesttemperature adjusting device, a sleep sensor, etc.

An accessary may be attached to a home appliance 5. For example, anaccessary having a vibration sensor may be attached to a washing machineto sense vibration during operation of the washing machine, and a signaloutput from the vibration sensor due to sensed vibration may betransmitted to a network.

In addition, an accessary may be attached in a space other than the homeappliance 5. For example, to sense opening and closing of a door athome, an accessary having a movement sensing sensor (e.g., an IR sensor)may be attached to a wall to sense opening and closing of the door. Ifopening and closing of the door at home has not been sensed for a longtime, there may be a problem with a resident, and such information maybe transmitted to a preset mobile terminal 6.

Furthermore, an accessary having the movement sensing sensor is attachedto sense opening and closing of a refrigerant door, and, if opening andclosing of the refrigerant door has not been sensed for a long time,there may be a problem with a resident, and such information may betransmitted to a preset mobile terminal 6.

In the above various embodiments, a signal transmitted from an accessaryvia a network may be received by the mobile terminal 6, and anapplication embedded in the mobile terminal 6 may analyze the receivedsignal and identify operation state (e.g., unbalancing of a washingmachine) or door opening/closing information of the home appliance 5.Then, the information or a result obtained by processing the information(e.g., an alarm notifying abnormal operation of the washing machine, ora notification of the need of checking safety of a resident as a doorhas not been opened for a long time) may be output through a display orspeaker of the mobile terminal 6.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may include a microphone(not shown), extract a command from a voice, input through themicrophone, based on the embedded voice recognition program, andperforms control in accordance with the command.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a home network system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

The home network system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention is different from the above-described embodiment in that thegateway is not provide 4 and the function of the gateway 4 is performedby the voice recognition apparatus 1, and other features aresubstantially identical to those of the above-described embodiment.

Accessories 2 and 3 may communicate directly with the voice recognitionapparatus 2 without bypassing the gateway (see FIG. 1). Preferably, theaccessories 2 and 3 b may communicate with the voice recognitionapparatus 1 based on the Zigbee technology, and, in this case, theaccessories 2 and 3 b and the voice recognition apparatus 1 may berespectively provided with Zigbee modules.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a voice recognition apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a front view (a)of a voice recognition apparatus and a cross-sectional view (b) cutalong A1-A1 shown in (a). FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one portion ofFIG. 4. FIG. 6A is a right side view of a voice recognition apparatus.FIG. 6B are cross-sectional view of a grill viewed from each pointindicated in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating controlrelationship between major components of a voice recognition apparatus.FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a cover. FIG. 9 shows a coverfrom which a window is removed. FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the casewhere a voice input PCB is yet to be coupled to a window support. FIG.11 is a cross-sectional view of the case where a voice input PCB iscoupled to a window support.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 11, a voice recognition apparatus (or the voicerecognition apparatus 1) according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may include a cover 10, a main body 40, a grill 20, and a base30. The main body may be supported by the base positioned at the bottom,and the cover 10 may be coupled to the top of the main body 40.

The main body 40 is provided inside the grill 20. The whole main body 40is not necessarily provided inside the grill 20, and, as shown in theembodiment, a portion of the main body 40 may protrude through an upperend of the grill 20. The grill 20 is provided with a plurality ofthrough-holes 20 h, is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape,and surrounds the main body 40.

An porous filter (not shown) may be attached to an inner side of thegrill 20 so that dust is prevented from flowing into the inside of thegrill 20 through the through-holes 20 h. The filter may be formed of amaterial having tiny holes, such as mesh or non woven fabrics. Thefilter may be attached to an inner surface of the grill 20 by anadhesive member such as double-side tape. The filter also helps preventcomponents, such as speakers 43 and 44 provided inside the grill 20 andmain body cases 41 and 42, from being seen from the outside through thethrough-holes 20 h.

Meanwhile, FIG. 3 shows the case where a through-hole 20 h is formed ata portion of the grill 20 and omitted in other portions, but this ismerely an illustration for convenience of the drawing. The through-hole20 h may be formed in most parts of the grill 20 so that sound outputfrom the speakers 43 and 44 which will be described later can evenlyspread in the leftward, rightward, frontward, and rearward directionsthrough the through-holes 20 h.

The cover 10 may include a window 11, a window support 12, a display 13,a display Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 14, and a cover housing 15. Thewindow 11, the window support 12, the display 13, and the display PCB 14may be provided inside the cover housing 15.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover housing 15 is formed of syntacticresin and coupled to the upper side of the main body 40, and has anopening 15H formed in an upper surface of the cover housing 15. Thecover housing 15 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the upper part ofthe cover housing 15 may include a side wall 151 defining the opening 15h, and a partition 152 that extends from an inner surface of the sidewall 151 to partition the inside of the side wall 151 vertically. Thedisplay PCB 14, the display 13, the window support 12, and the window 11are disposed above the partition 152 (for more detailed configuration ofthe cover housing 15, see FIGS. 21 and 22).

An upper end 151 a of the side wall 151 is in contact with the upper endof the grill 20, but there may be a clearance between the upper end 151a of the side wall 151 and the upper end of the grill 20. As viewed fromabove, at least part of the lower end 151 a of the side wall 151overlaps the upper end of the grill 20. There is clearance between anoutside surface of the side wall 151 and an outer surface of the grill20, but, except the clearance, the outer surface of the side wall 151and the outer surface of the grill 20 form one integrated appearance.

An upper end holder 153 extends downward from the lower end 151 of theside wall 151 to be thereby coupled to the grill 20. Such coupling ofthe upper end holder 153 and the grill 20 is achieved not by using anadditional fastening member, such as a bolt, but using a structure inwhich the upper end holder 153 is inserted (fitted) inside an opening ofthe upper end of the grill 20. Preferably, coupling of the upper endholder 153 and the grill 20 is a forced fitting manner using anelastic/restoring force that the grill 20 or the upper end holder 153has.

The upper end holder 153 is positioned inside more than the lower end ofthe side wall 151 (that is, the outer surface of the cover housing 15 isrecessed at the lower end 151 a of the side 2 all 151 to form an outersurface of the upper end holder 153), so a surface 157 may be formed atthe lower end of the side wall 151, the surface 157 which extends fromthe outer surface of the side wall 151 to the upper end holder 153 tooppose the upper end of the grill 20.

The cover housing 15 may have a protrusion 154 protruding from the innersurface of the side wall 151, and a protrusion insertion groove 418formed at the front surface of the main body 40 and coupled to theprotrusion 154. If the protrusion 154 of the main body 40 reaches theprotrusion insertion groove 418 while moving along a circumferentialsurface in the process of assembling the cover housing 15 and the mainbody 40, the protrusion is inserted into the protrusion insertion groove418 by an elastic force of the cover housing 15 made of syntactic resin.

As the outer surface of the upper holder 153 is in contact with theinner surface of the grill 20, the shape of the upper end of the grill20 is maintained. In particular, when the grill 20 is made of a metalmaterial, the grill 20 is deformed in response to a shape of the upperend holder 153, and thus, the upper end of the grill 20 may bemaintained in a shape corresponding to the upper end holder 153.

Meanwhile, in the case where the upper end holder 153 extends in anelliptical shape along the lower end 151 a of the side wall 151, a metalplate is rolled up to form the cylindrical shape of the grill 20 with acircular-shaped cross section, and, if the upper end of the grill 20 isfitted into the upper end holder 153, the shape of the grill 20 is alsochanged into an elliptical shape corresponding to the shape of the upperend holder 153 and maintained in the changed shape.

As in the embodiment, in the case where the window having a radius r isinclined at a predetermined angle (which is indicated as θ1 in FIG. 6A,that is, an acute angle, and which is hereinafter referred to as a“first angle”) relative to a specific horizontal plane, and a vector Vh,which is obtained by orthogonally projecting a normal vector Vs of anupper surface of the window 11 onto the horizontal plane, faces theforward front, the shape of the window 11 projected onto the horizontalplane becomes an elliptical shape having a short radius r cos θ1 in thefront and rear direction and a long radius r in the left and rightdirection. Thus, for an integrated exterior of the voice recognitionapparatus 1, it is desirable that a cross section of the grill 20 isformed in a shape (the form having cos θ1:1 which is a ratio of a shortradius to a long radius) corresponding to the elliptical shape. Sincethe upper end holder 153 is formed in a shape corresponding to theelliptical shape, it is possible to maintain the cross section of thegrill 20 in a shape corresponding to the elliptical shape. Theexpression “shape corresponding to” is defined to indicate not just thecase where two figures have a completely identical shape, but also thecase where the two figures resembles each other (e.g., the case where arate of a short radius to a long radius is the same), and thecorresponding shape will be hereinafter used with the above meaning.

The angle θ1 at which the window 11 is inclined against the horizontalplane is determined in consideration of a user's gaze in a general usecondition. The angle θ1 is determined to allow a gaze of an adult userto be positioned in front of the voice recognition apparatus 1approximately forms 90° relative to the upper surface of the window 11when the voice recognition apparatus 1 is placed in a sink, a table, orthe like in a kitchen. Preferably, the angle θ1 is determined to formapproximately 90° relative to the upper surface of the window 11, and itis desirable that the angle θ1 is approximately 20% but aspects of thepresent invention are not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, a display panel 131 may be inclined at a specific anglerelative to a horizontal plane so that a screen of the display panel 131is directed toward an upper front side. Preferably, the display panel131 is inclined at the same angle θ1 as the window 11. A window supportplate 121 which will be described later is also inclined at the sameangle as that of the display panel 131 (or the window 11).

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 6A to 6D, an upper end of the sidewall 151 of the cover housing 15 is formed in a circular shape having anouter diameter L1, and an outer diameter of the lower end 151 a of theside wall 151 is inclined at an angle θ2 (θ2<θ1. Hereinafter, θ2 will bedescribed as a “second angle”.) relative to a horizontal plane, andtherefore, the upper end of the side wall 151 is in a shape having adiameter La in the left and right direction and a diameter Lb in thefront and rear direction. In this case, since the outer surface of theside wall 151 is inclined at a predetermined angle θ3, a shape of across section S1 orthogonally projected onto a horizontal plane and ashape of a cross section S2 orthogonally projected onto the horizontalplane do not perfectly coincide with each other in FIG. 6. However, if avalue of θ3 is sufficiently small (preferably, equal to or smaller than)5°, La and L1 has approximate values, so, it will be hereinafter assumedthat La=L1. Furthermore, if a difference between θ1 and θ2 issufficiently small, (preferably, equal to or smaller than 5°) Lb alsohas an approximate value of L1, so it will be hereinafter assumed thatLb=L1.

θ3 indicates an angle of an outer surface of the side wall 151 relativeto a vertical line, and θ3 may have a constant value in the entireregion of the outer surface of the side wall 151 but it also may varyalong the circumference of the side wall 151.

Meanwhile, referring to cross sections S3 and S4 shown in FIG. 6B, anouter diameter of the grill 20 is an ellipse (L1>L2) having a longdiameter L1 in the left and right direction and a short diameter L2 inthe front rear direction. In this case, as assumed above, if La=L1 andLb-L1, L2 is L1 cos θ1. That is, an exterior shape of the grill 20orthogonally projected onto the horizontal plane is an ellipse with thediameter L2 in the front and rear direction shorter than the diameter L1in the left and right direction. Although the window 11 is inclined, thevoice recognition apparatus 1 has an elliptical shape, as viewed fromabove, and seemed to have an integrated exterior

The side wall 151 is disposed in the upper side of the grill 20 and thusdefines the exterior appearance of the voice recognition apparatus 1,but the upper end holder 153 is fully recessed inward of the grill 20and thus hidden by the grill 20 so the upper end holder 153 is viewed atall on the exterior appearance of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

A position setting protrusion 156 (see FIG. 23) may protrude from thelower end of the side wall 151, and a position setting groove may beformed at the upper end of the grill 20 to allow the position settingprotrusion inserted thereinto when the grill 20 is in right place.

The window 11 may be disposed inside the opening 15 h of the coverhousing 15. The window 11 is a processed transparent plate of constantthickness, and a side surface (or a circumferential surface) of thewindow 11 is orthogonal to an upper surface and a lower surface thereof.

An inner surface of the cover housing 15 has a specific portion 151 bextending from the upper end of the cover housing 15 and being parallelto a direction (that is, a direction in which the normal vector Vs indirected in FIG. 6A) which the upper surface of the window 11 faces. Theupper end inner surface 151 a of the side wall 151 defines the opening15 h, and thus, the upper end inner surface 151 b of the side wall 151is referred to as an opening defining surface. The opening definingsurface 151 b is in the form of a cylindrical shape extending from thecircumference of the opening 15 h, and the window 11 is disposed theinside surrounded by the opening defining surface 151 b. Preferably, theupper surface of the window 11 belongs to the same plane (or a plane towhich the opening 15 h belongs) as a plane to which the upper end of thecover housing 15 belongs, and therefore, the upper surface of the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may seemingly have one integrated plane.

The opening defining surface 151 b is composed of a surface which isparallel to the vector Vs at any position. That is, even in the casewhere the cover housing 15 is cut by an arbitrary plane parallel to thevector Vs, the opening defining surface 151 b is parallel to the vectorVs on a cross section.

Since the opening defining surface 151 b and the side surface of thewindow 11 are parallel to each other, the entire region of the sidesurface of the window 11 may be maintained with a predetermined gap gfrom the opening defining surface 151 b when the center of the window 11and the center of the opening defining surface 151 b are aligned alongthe vector Vs. This means that, when the voice recognition apparatus 1is viewed from above, the predetermined gap g is maintained between thewindow 11 and the upper end of the cover housing 15, and this providesimpression of a high product quality. The gap g may be set to a minimumvalue in a condition in which the side surface is not interfered withthe opening defining surface 151 b when the window 11 is pressed tooperate contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d.

In the case where the cover housing 15 is cut along an arbitraryvertical plane, an outer surface of the side wall 151 may be, on thecut-off surface, parallel to the normal vector Vs or may be distal fromthe vector Vs at a lower end. In a process of injection molding thecover housing 15, the cover housing 15 is ejected in a verticallydownward direction from a first mold defining the side wall 151. For thecover housing 15 to be easily ejected from the first mold, the outersurface of the side wall 151 needs to have the above-described shape.

On the contrary, in order to form the opening 15H in the upper surfaceof the cover housing 15, a second mold having a core, which is to beinserted into the opening 15 h, is needed. By moving the second moldwhen the first mold is removed, the cover housing 15 may be separatedfrom the second mold, and, in this case, the second mold is moved in thesame direction as the normal vector Vs.

FIG. 12A is a perspective view showing an upper surface of a windowsupport. FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing a bottom surface of awindow support. FIG. 12C is a right side view of a window support. FIG.12D is a bottom view of a window support. FIG. 13 shows a front side ofa cover shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view cut alongB3-B3 shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view cut alongA3-A3 shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14C is a cross-sectional view cut alongC3-C3 shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14D is a cross-sectional view cut alongD3-D3 shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a right side view of a cover. FIG.16A is a cross-sectional view cut along F1-F1 shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 16Bis a cross-sectional view cut along F2-F2 shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 17shows the case where a window support is removed from an assembly shownin FIG. 9. FIG. 18 shows the case where a display is removed from theassembly shown in FIG. 17. FIG. 19 is a plan view of a display PCB. FIG.20 is a perspective view showing the bottom surface of a display PCB.FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of a cover and a volume button.FIG. 22 shows a plane view (a) and a perspective view (b) of a coverhousing. FIG. 23 is a rear view of a cover housing. Hereinafter,description will be provided with reference to FIGS. 12A to 23.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 17 to 20, a display PCB 14 is provided on anupper surface of the partition 152 to support the display 13 from thebottom. The display PCB 14 includes a circuit electrically connected tothe display 13, and the display is connected to the circuit via aconnector 132. On the upper surface of the display PCB 14, four contactswitches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d may be disposed in the forward,rearward, leftward, and rightward direction from the display 13.

The display PCB 14 may be in the shape of a cross extending from thecenter thereof in the frontward, rearward, leftward, and rightwarddirection. More specifically, a substrate 140 in which a circuit of thedisplay PCB 14 is configured may include a first substrate arm 145, asecond substrate arm 146, a third substrate arm 147, and a fourthsubstrate arm 148 extending in the rearwards, frontwards, leftwards, andrightward directions, respectively from the center thereof. Thesubstrate 140 may be approximately in the shape of a cross, but such ashape is not necessarily symmetric.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, on the upper surface of the partition 152of the cover housing 15, there may be formed a rib 152 a protruding froma position in contact with the circumference of the display PCB 14. Therib 152 a is not necessarily in a shape corresponding to the wholecircumference of the display PCB 14, and the rib 152 a may be in contactwith part of the circumference of the display PCB 14, and, as in theembodiment, the rib 152 a may be formed at a plurality of points alongthe circumference of the display PCB 14. In particular, the rib 152 amay be formed at positions in contact with lateral sides (that is, aside extending outward from the center of the substrate 140) of thesubstrate arms 145, 146, 147, and 148.

On the substrate arms 145, 146, 147, and 148, there may be disposed thefirst contact switch 181 a, the second contact switch 181 b, the thirdcontact switch 181 c, and the fourth contact switch 181 d, respectively.The contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d are electricallyconnected to a circuit formed in the substrate 140.

On the display PCB 14, there may be disposed a Near Field Communication(NFC) module 50 d (see FIG. 7). The NFC module 50 d enables NFCcommunications and may be disposed in an NFC mount unit 146 a formed inthe second substrate arm 146. Near Field Communication (NFC) is one ofwireless tag (RFID) technologies, and a non-contact communicationtechnology using 13.56 MHz frequency band. Due to a short communicationdistance, NFC is relatively excellent in encryption and inexpensive andthus NFC is regarded as a next-generation short-range communicationtechnology. Since data reading and reading functions are all possible inNFC, a dongle (reader) necessary to use RFID is not required. NFC issimilar to an existing short-range communication technology, such asBluetooth, but it is advantageous in that establishing connectionbetween devices is not required.

The display 13 is a device that displays an image by receiving anelectric signal. The display 13 is connected to a circuit of the displayPCB 14, and displays an image in accordance with a control signal inputthrough the circuit. The display 13 may include a display panel 131, anda connector 132 connecting the display panel 131 to the display PCB 14(see FIG. 8). The display panel 131 may be attached to the upper surfaceof the display PCB 14 by an adhesive member (e.g., a double-side tape171 (see FIG. 17)).

The display PCB 14 is circuit-connected to a main PCB 48, which will bedescribed later, via a predetermined cable (not shown). Thus, acontroller for controlling the display 13 is able to be mounted any oneof the display PCB 14 and the main PCB 48. Hereinafter, the display 13will be described as being controlled by a controller 82 (see FIG. 7)mounted in the main PCB 48. On the side of the main body 40, a groove429 for accommodating the cable may be elongated in the upward-downwarddirection.

On the screen of the display panel 131, diverse information may bedisplayed. The controller 240 may control not just driving of thedisplay panel 131 by a program stored in the memory 250, but alsooverall operation of electronic components of the voice recognitionapparatus 1. A User Interface (UI) may be displayed through the displaypanel 131, and such an interface may be implemented as the program isexecuted.

The interface may display play information of the speakers 43 and 44.For example, diverse information may be displayed, for example,play/stop/selected menu, a play status, music title, singer/albuminformation, lyrics, volume, etc.

In the case where the voice recognition apparatus 1 is provided with acommunication module 50, the interface may display information exchangedthrough the communication module 40. For example, the interface maydisplay a menu for controlling accessories 2, 3 a, and 3 b whichcommunicate with the communication module 50, or may process informationprocessed based on information transmitted from the accessories 2, 3 a,and 3 b. Specifically, information on a network connection state of thecommunication module 50 and on temperature/humidity/brightness sensed bya sensor provided in the accessory 2 may be displayed through theinterface. In addition, a menu for controlling outputting of thespeakers 43 and 44 may be displayed through the interface. For example,a menu for selecting a song or album to be output through the speakers43 and 44, information related to the album or song (e.g., a song title,an album title, and a singer), volume of output sound may be displayed.

The menu displayed on the interface may be manipulated using amanipulation unit 181.

Meanwhile, the manipulation 181 may be provided with the contactswitches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d. How an output signal from eachof the contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d is processed isdetermined by a program pre-stored in the memory 250. For example, inaccordance of operation signals of the first and second contact switches181 a and 181 b, menu items displayed in the left and right direction onthe interface may be selected. In accordance with operation signals ofthe third and fourth contact switches 181 c and 181 d, menu itemsdisplayed in the up and down direction on the interface may be selected

A user is able to communicate with a Bluetooth module 50 b using anexternal device, such as a smart phone and a laptop, and a variety ofdata, such as music and images, may be stored in the memory 250 due tothe communication. In particular, the controller 240 may control thespeakers 43 and 44 to output music stored in the memory 250, and avariety of functions, such as selecting, playing, and stopping music,may be implemented using the contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and181 d.

Meanwhile, on the substrate 140 of the display PCB 14, there may beformed a through-hole 140 h through which a support boss 122 b formed inthe window support passes. In the through hole 140 h, there may beformed the first substrate arm 145.

Referring to FIG. 20, a pair of volume adjusting switches 185 a and 185b may be provided in the bottom surface of the substrate 140. The volumeadjusting switches 185 a and 185 b are for adjusting volume of thespeakers 43 and 44 provided in the main body 40. Each of the volumeadjusting switches 185 a and 185 b may be in the form of a contactswitch and is connected to a circuit of the display PCB 14. The volumeswitches 185 a and 185 b may include: a first volume adjusting switch(or a volume up switch 185 a) which controls, upon being pressed, thespeakers 43 and 44 to volume up; and a second volume adjusting switch(or a volume down switch 185 b) which controls, upon being pressed, thespeakers 43 and 44 to volume down.

The volume adjusting switches 185 a and 185 b may be provided in thefourth substrate arm 148 of the display PCB 14, and each moving terminal(a portion being pressed for switching operation) of the volumeadjusting switches 185 a and 1895 b may protrude toward the side wall151 of the cover housing 15.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22, the opening 151 h in which a volume buttonis installed may be formed in the side wall 151 of the cover housing 15.The volume button 16 may include a dome 161 and an elastic pad 162.

The elastic pad 162 may be formed as a component made of an elasticmaterial (preferably, rubber). The elastic pad 162 is formed in a plateshape that extending along the circumferential direction of the sidewall 151. The elastic pad 162 may include: a supporting portion 162 adisposed inside the housing 15; a pair of switch moving protrusions 162b and 162 c protruding from an inner surface of the supporting portion162 a; and a dome fixing protrusion 162 d protruding from an outersurface of the supporting portion 162 a to be exposed to the outsidethrough the opening 151 h. The size of the supporting portion 162 a isgreater than that of the opening 151 h, and thus, unless bending by anexternal force, the supporting portion 162 a may not be moved out of thecover housing 15 through the opening 151 h.

The dome 161 is formed of syntactic resin and has a groove formed in onesurface, and the dome fixing protrusion 162 d is inserted into thegroove. Preferably, the dome fixing protrusion 162 d is forcibly fittedinto the groove, and not easily separated from the dome 161 due to anelastic force or a restoring force of the material of the dome fixingprotrusion 162 d, even without using an additional adhesive means.However, aspects of the present invention are not limited thereto, andthe dome 161 and the dome fixing protrusion 162 may be coupled to eachother by an adhesive member, such as a double-side tape.

A separation preventing protrusion 161 c may protrude from an uppersurface and/or a lower surface of the dome 161. The separationpreventing protrusion 161 is disposed inside the cover housing 15, andmeets the circumference of the opening 151 h to thereby more firmlyprevent the dome 161 from being separating from the cover housing 15. Inthe embodiment, a pair of separation preventing protrusions 161 c isformed in the upper surface and the lower surface of the dome 161, butaspects of the present invention are not limited thereto.

When the elastic pad 162 is placed at the right position in the opening151 h, a pair of switch moving protrusions 162 b and 162 c is disposedat positions corresponding to the first volume adjusting switch 185 aand the second volume adjusting switch 185 b, respectively. When avolume-up manipulation unit 161 a or a volume-down manipulation unit 161b of the dome 161 is pressed, the switch moving protrusions 162 b and162 c of the elastic pad 162 operates the volume up switch 185 a or thevolume down switch 185 b, and accordingly, volume of the speakers 43 and44 are adjusted.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 16, an approximate circular-shaped windowsupport 12 may be disposed above the display 13. The window support 12is an synthetic resin injected object and proper ably formed as onecomponent. An opening 12 h is formed in the window support 12, and ascreen of the display 13 is exposed through the opening 12 h.

The opening 12 h is formed at a position corresponding to the displaypanel 131 provided below the window support 12, and it is desired thatthe opening 12 h is formed in size a little bit smaller than the displaypanel 131. A screen displayed on the display panel 131 may be viewedthrough the opening 12 h.

The display panel 131 is in a rectangular shape having a left-and-rightdirection length loner than a front-and-rear direction length. Thus, inorder to correspond to the shape of the display panel 131, the opening12 h may be in a shape having a left-and-right-direction length longerthan a front-and-rear-direction length.

The window support 12 may include: a window support plate 121 having theopening 12 h formed at the center thereof and the window 11 disposed inthe upper surface thereof; manipulation protrusions 126 a, 126 b, 126 c,and 126 d protruding downward from the window support plate 121; and aplurality of support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d protrudingdownward from the window support plate 121.

The support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d may extend verticallydownwards. Similarly to the window 11, the window support plate 121 maybe also inclined at the first angle θ1 relative to the horizontal plane.In this case, the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d are notorthogonal to the window support plate 121, and it is desirable that thesupport bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d may form a complementaryangle 90-θ1 of θ1 relative to the window support plate 121.

Hereinafter, the window support plate 121 is divided into a firstsection SE1 positioned in the rear side of the opening 12 h, a secondsection SE2 positioned in the front side of the opening 12 h, a thirdsection SE2 positioned in the left side of the opening 12 h, and afourth section SE4 positioned in the right side of the opening 12 h.

At least one of the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d may beformed in each of the first section SE1 and the second section SE2. Inorder to stably fix the window support plate 121 while preventing itfrom shaking, the four support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d maybe formed, and the first support boss 122 a and the second support boss122 b may be in the first section SE1, while the third support boss 122c and the fourth support boss 122 d may be formed in the second sectionSE2.

The support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d are coupled to thecover housing 15 to support the window support plate 121, and, in thiscase, the window support plate 121 may be spaced apart from the displayPCB 14. At least one of the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122d may be coupled to the partition 152 by passing through quadrantsformed by the substrate arms 145, 146, 147, and 148, while at leastanother thereof may be coupled to the partition 152 by passing throughthe through hole 140 h formed in the substrate arm 145.

Referring to FIG. 19, the inside of the cover housing 15 is divided intofour areas P1, P2, P3, and P4 by the cross-shaped four substrate arms145, 146, 147, and 148. Hereinafter, a sequence is applied according toa general definition for a quadrant, so P1 is defined as a firstquadrant, P1 as a second quadrant, P3 as a third quadrant, and P4 as afourth quadrant.

The first support boss 122 a, the third support boss 122 c, and thefourth support boss 122 d are coupled to the partition 152 by passingthrough the second quadrant P2, the third quadrant P3, and the fourthquadrant P4, respectively, while the second support boss 122 b iscoupled to the partition 152 by passing through the through-hole 140 hformed in the first substrate arm 145.

The coupling between the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 dand the partition 152 of the cover housing 15 may be implemented in amanner in which the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d arecoupled directly with the partition 152. However, as shown in theembodiment, the coupling between the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c,and 122 d and the partition 152 of the cover housing 15 may beimplemented in a manner in which the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c,and 122 d are coupled to insertion bosses 154 a, 154 b, 154 c, and 154 dformed in the partition 152.

In the partition 152 of the cover housing 15, there may be formed afirst insertion boss 154 a, a second boss 154 b, a third insertion boss154 c, and a fourth insertion boss 154 d at positions respectivelycorresponding to the first support boss 122 a, the second support boss122 b, the third support boss 122 c, and the fourth support boss 122 d.The insertion bosses 154 a, 154 b, 154 c, and 154 d may protrudedownward from the partition 152, and may extend in parallel with thesupport bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d, respectively.

The first support boss 122 a, the second support boss 122 b, the thirdsupport boss 122 c, and the fourth support boss 122 d are inserted intothe first insertion boss 154 a, the second insertion boss 154 b, thethird insertion boss 154 c, and the fourth insertion boss 154 d,respectively. At a lower end of each of the insertion bosses 154 a, 154b, 154 c, and 154 d, there may be formed a fastening hole into which abolt is fastened. A bolt 19 may pass through each fastening hole upwardfrom the bottom to be fastened to support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c,and 122 d.

Referring to FIGS. 17 to 19, the cover housing 15 may include one ormore ribs 152 a, 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f protruding upwardfrom the partition 152.

One or more ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f from among theribs 152 a, 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f may be in contact withthe circumference of the display panel 131. However, the display PCB 14is disposed on the upper surface of the partition 152, so the ribs 152b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f should not interfere with the displayPCB 14 in order to come into contact with the circumference of thedisplay panel 131. To this end, the present invention proposes using thecross-shaped quadrants P1, P2, P3, and P4 divided by the display PCB 14as a channel through which the ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152f passes without interfering with the display PCB 14.

The ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f may pass any one of thequadrants P1, P2, P3, and P$ divided by the substrate arms 145, 146,147, and 148 of the display PCB 14 to thereby come into contact with anedge portion of the display panel 131. The ribs 152 b, 152 c, 152 d, 152e, and 152 f may play a role of setting the position of the displaypanel 131, and a function of helping the display panel 131 maintained inright position without shaking.

The display panel 131 may be in a rectangular shape, and at least oneside of the display panel 131 may come into contact with the ribs 152 b,152 c, 152 d, 152 e, and 152 f.

Each pair of sides out of the four sides of the display panel 131 maycome into contact with ribs. In the embodiment, horizontal sides (orsides extending in the left and right direction) of the display panel131 are in contact with the ribs 152 b, 152 c, and 152 d. The ribs 152b, 152 c, and 152 d may extend along a horizontal side of the displaypanel 131.

The ribs 152 b, 152 c, and 152 d may respectively pass different areasfrom among the four areas P1, P2, P3, and P4 which are divided by thesubstrate arms 145, 146, 147, and 148. In the embodiment, the rib 152 bpasses the second quadrant P2, the rib 152 c passes through the thirdquadrant P3, and the rib 152 d passes the fourth quadrant P3, so theribs 152 b, 152 c, and 152 d are respectively in contact with a rearwardside (an upper horizontal side in the drawing), a left lateral side, anda forward side (a lower horizontal side in the drawing) of the displaypanel 131.

In some implementations, there may be additionally formed a rib thatpasses through the first quadrant P1 and/or the fourth quadrant P5 tothereby come into contact with the right side of the display panel 141.

A rib (e.g., 152 b) in contact with any one side of the display panel131, and a rib (e.g., 152 c) in contact with another side of the displaypanel 131 may respectively pass through different areas (e.g., P2 andP3) from among the areas P1, P2, P3 and P4 divided by the substrate arms145, 146, 147, and 148.

Due to material characteristics, in response to pressure in apredetermined range, the window support plate 121 may bend about thesupport bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d. Such deformation of thewindow support plate 121 is elastic such that the window support plate121 returns back to its original shape when the pressure is removed.

The first manipulation protrusion 126 a, the second manipulationprotrusion 126 b, the third manipulation protrusion 126 c, and thefourth manipulation protrusion 126 d of the window support 12 aredisposed at positions respectively corresponding to the first contactswitch 181 a, the second contact switch 181 b, the third contact switch181 c, and the fourth contact switch 181 d provided on the display PCB14. Accordingly, when pressure is applied through the window 11 to anyone of the first section SE1, the second section SE2, the third sectionSE3, and the fourth section SE4 of the window support 12, a manipulationprotrusion (e.g., the first manipulation protrusion 126 a) belonging toa section (e.g., the first section SE1) to which the pressure is appliedoperates a contact switch (e.g., the first contact switch 181 a)positioned below the corresponding manipulation protrusion.

The window support 12 may further include a first tab 125 a, a secondtab 125 b, a third tab 125 c, and a fourth tab 125 d extending downwardfrom the window support plate 121. The tabs 125 a, 125 b, 125 c, and 125d may protrude vertically from the bottom surface of the window supportplate 121. On the upper surface of the partition 152 of the coverhousing 15, there may be formed tab insertion grooves (not indicated byreference numerals) at positions respectively corresponding to the tabs125 a, 125 b, 125 c, and 125 d.

Meanwhile, the window 11 is a circular transparent plate, and allows ascreen of the display 13 to pass therethrough, and it is desirable thatthe window 11 is formed of acryl. A user is able to see a screendisplayed on the display 13 through the window 11. Not the entire areaof the window 11 is necessarily transparent. The window support 12 maynot viewable in the exterior appearance of the voice recognitionapparatus 1, and only a screen of the display panel 131 exposed throughthe opening 12 h of the window support 12 may be viewable. Only aspecific area 11 b at a position approximately corresponding to theopening 12 h is may be transparent, and other areas 11 a may be coloredopaquely or translucently to be hidden from the outside or may have afilm or the like attached thereto (see FIG. 3).

The window 11 may be bonded to the upper surface of the window supportplate 121 of the window support 12 using a double-side tape or the like.Due to characteristics of a syntactic resin material, the window may beelastically bent in response to application of pressure in apredetermined range. Such bending helps the contact switches 181 a, 181b, 181 c, and 181 d to operate more smoothly. However, the bending ofthe window 11 is elastic, so the window 11 may be restored to itsoriginal shape when the pressure is removed.

Meanwhile, the opening 12 h formed in the window support plate 121 has ahorizontal-direction (or left-right direction) length longer than afront-and-rear-direction (or vertical-direction) length, so the thirdregion SE 3 and the fourth section SE4 corresponding to the left andright sides of the opening 12H is not appropriate for installation ofsupport bosses. It is because a distance from the circumference of theopening 12 h to the third manipulation protrusion 126 c or the fourthmanipulation protrusion 126 in the third section SE3 and the fourthsection SE4 is shorter than a distance from the circumference of theopening 12 h to the first manipulation protrusion 126 a or the secondmanipulation protrusion 126 b in the first section SE1 and the secondsection SE2, and thus, if a support boss is formed in the third sectionSE3 or the fourth section SE4, a distance of the third manipulationprotrusion 126 c or the fourth manipulation protrusion 126 d to thesupport boss is too close, and, in this case, greater pressure needs tobe applied to the window support plate 121 in order to operate thecorresponding manipulation protrusion

For this reason, the first support boss 122 a and the second supportboss 122 b are formed in the first section SE1, and it is desirable thatthe third support boss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d areformed in the second section SE2.

Meanwhile, as viewed from above, the first manipulation protrusion 126 ais disposed more outer than the first support boss 122 a and the secondsupport boss 122 b within the cover housing 15, and the secondmanipulation protrusion 126 b is disposed more outer than the thirdsupport boss 122 c and the fourth support boss 122 d.

In each of the first section SE1 and the second section SE2, there maybe formed slits 121 a and 121 b between the manipulation protrusions 126a and 126 b and the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d.

Referring to FIG. 12D, the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 dare disposed in the first section SE1 or the second section SE2, andthus closer to the first manipulation protrusion 126 a or the secondmanipulation protrusion 126 b than the third manipulation protrusion 126c or the fourth manipulation protrusion 126 d. For example, whenpressure is applied to the first section SE1 of the window support plate121, the window support plate 121 may bend about the first support boss122 a and the second support boss 122 b. In this case, a radius ofrotation (moment arm) of the first manipulation protrusion 126 a aboutthe first support boss 122 a is r11, and a radius of rotation of thefirst manipulation protrusion 126 a about the second support boss 122 bis r12. In the embodiment, since the first manipulation protrusion 126 ais closer to the second support boss 122 b than the first support boss122 a, r12 is shorter than r11. In addition, a distance from the thirdmanipulation protrusion 126 c to the first support boss 122 a isr31(r31>r11>r12), and r33, which is a distance from the thirdmanipulation protrusion 126 c to the third support boss 122 c issubstantially identical to r31.

Manipulability of each of the manipulation protrusion 126 a, 126 b, 126c, and 126 d is influenced by a distance to the most adjacent supportbosses. If the slits 121 a and 121 b do not exist, and, if r31 isgreater than r12 as in the above example, the third section SE3 bendsmore easily than the first section SE1 even when the same pressure isapplied to the first section SE1 and the third section SE3. As a result,the third manipulation protrusion 126 c may move downward more easilythan the first manipulation protrusion 126 a, and thus, the thirdcontact switch 181 c may operate more smoothly than the first contactswitch 181 a. For the same reason, the second contact switch 181 b maynot operate smoothly compared to the third contact switch 181 c or thefourth contact switch 181 d.

To solve this problem, a first slit 121 a and a second slit 121 b arerespectively formed in the first section SE1 and the second section SE2of the window support plate 121. In these sections SE1 and SE2, theslits 121 a and 121 b are located between the support bosses 122 a, 122b, 122 c, and 122 d and the manipulation protrusions 126 a, 126 b, 126c, and 126 d.

As shown in FIG. 12D, a diameter passing through the center C of thewindow support plate 121 and extending in the left-and-right directionis defined as a horizontal diameter D1, and a diameter passing throughthe center C of the window support plate 121 and extending in thefront-and-rear direction is defined as a vertical diameter D2. In thiscase, the first support boss 122 a and the second support boss 122 b aredisposed substantially parallel to the horizontal diameter D1 in thefirst section SE1, and the third support boss 122 c and the fourthsupport boss 122 d may be disposed substantially parallel to thehorizontal diameter D1 in the second section SE2. In addition, each ofthe first slit 121 a and the second slit 121 b may extend substantiallyparallel to the horizontal diameter D1.

As the slits 121 a and 121 b are formed, bending of the window supportplate 121 occurs at positions adjacent to both ends of the slits 121 aand 121 b when pressure is applied to the first section SE1 or thesecond section SE2. In particular, such bending often occurs in a narrowarea between end portions of the slits 121 a and 121 b and an outercircumference of the window support late 121, so the window supportplate 121 may bend more smoothly than when the slits 121 a and 121 b arenot formed.

In addition, there is an effect that a distance from the manipulationprotrusions 126 a and 126 b and a bending portion increases. Forexample, in the case of the first manipulation protrusion 126 a, adistance rs to one end of the first slit 121 a becomes longer than adistance r12 to the second support boss 122 b. It is because a length ofthe moment arm of a force applied to a bending portion the first sectionSE1 is increased. This helps the first manipulation protrusion 126 a tomore smoothly move downward.

In addition, as in the embodiment, in the case where the support bosses122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d in the first section SE1 and the secondsection SE2 are disposed asymmetrically, the slits 121 a and 121 b isformed between the support bosses 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d and themanipulation protrusions 126 a and 126 b. Accordingly, bending of thewindow support plate 121 in the first section SE1 and the second sectionSE2 may be influenced more substantially by positions and shapes of theslits 121 a and 122 b, than by the positions of the support bosses 122a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d. Therefore, in the case where the first slit121 a and the second slit 121 b are asymmetrically disposed to eachother, manipulability of the first contact switch 181 a and the secondcontact switch 181 b may become uniform.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the main body 30 may be supported by the base30 disposed therebelow, and the upper part of the main body 40 may becoupled to the housing 15. The main body 40 may include speaker cases 41and 42 which forms a cavity 49 in an inward direction, and at least onespeaker 43 or 44 disposed inside the cavity 49. In the embodiment, twospeakers 43 and 44 are disposed in the speaker cases 41 and 42. Thespeaker 43 disposed in the upper side is a tweeter which outputshigh-note sound, and the speaker 44 disposed in the lower side is awoofer which outputs low-note band.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 23, a voice input PCB 17 and 18 is installed inthe cover 10. A user's voice is input to the voice input PCB 17 and 18.The voice input PCB 17 and 18 are connected to a voice recognition PCB40 a disposed in the main body 40. The voice input PCB 17 and 18 may beconnected to the voice recognition PCB 40 a via harness cables 17 b and18 b. The voice input PCB 17 and 18 may convert a user's voice into asoundwave signal recognizable by the voice recognition PCB 40 a, and thevoice recognition PCB 40 a may recognize the user's voice by analyzingthe soundwave signal received from the voice input PCB 17 and 18.

The voice input PCBs 17 and 18 are installed in the window support 12. Aplurality of voice input PCBs may be provided, and the plurality ofvoice input PCBs may be arranged symmetrically to the opening 12 hformed in the window support 12. In this embodiment, two voice inputPCBs 17 and 18 is provided, including a first voice input PCB 17 and asecond voice input PCB 18

The first voice input PCB 17 and 18 includes a first voice input PCB 17located in front of the opening 17 h formed in the window support 12,and a second voice input PCB 18 formed at rear of the opening 12 h. Thefirst voice input PCB is disposed in the second section SE2 of thewindow support plate 121, and the second voice input PCB 18 is disposedin the first section SE1 of the window support plate 121.

The first voice input PCB 17 is relatively lopsided toward the rightside with reference the center of the window support plate 121, and thesecond voice input PCB 18 is relatively lopsided toward the left sidewith reference the center of the window support plate 121.

On the upper surface of the window support 12 which opposes the window11, there is formed a PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b in which thevoice inputs PCB 17 and 18 are accommodated. When accommodated in thePCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b, the voice input PCB 17 and 18 donot protrude outward from the PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b.That is, the PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b is formed on theupper surface 12 of the window support as being recessed at a depthcorresponding to the vertical depth of the voice input PCB 17 and 18.When the voice input PCB 17 and 18 is accommodated in the PCBaccommodation space 12 a and 12 b, the upper surface of the voice inputPCB 17 and 18 coincide with the upper surface of the window support 12.

The PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b includes a first PCBaccommodation space 12 a in which the first voice input PCB 17 isaccommodated, and a second PCB accommodation space 12 b in which thesecond voice input PCB 18 is accommodated. The first PCB accommodationspace 12 a is disposed in front of the opening 12 h formed in the windowsupport 12, and the second PCB accommodation space 12 b is disposed atrear of the opening 12 h. The first PCB accommodation space 12 a isformed in the second section SE2 of the window support plate 121, andthe second PCB accommodation space 12 b is formed in the first sectionSE1 of the window support plate 121.

The first PCB accommodation space 12 a is relatively lopsided toward theright side with reference to the center of the window support plate 121,and the second PCB accommodation space 12 b is relatively lopsidedtoward the left side with reference to the center of the window supportplate 121.

The window support 12 further includes a position protrusion 12 c and 12d protruding from the bottom of the PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12b. In the voice input PCB 17 and 18, there is formed a position hole 17a and 18 a into which the position protrusion 12 c and 12 d is inserted.One position protrusion 12 c and 12 d is formed at an edge of arectangular-shaped PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b, and oneposition protrusion 12 c and 12 d is formed at an edge of arectangular-shaped voice input PCB 17 and 18. To make the voice inputPCB 17 and 18 accommodated in the PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b,an operator may fit the position protrusion 12 c and 12 d into theposition hole 17 a and 18 a so that the voice input PCB 17 and 18 isaccommodated at right position in the PCB accommodation space 12 a and12 b.

The position protrusion 12 c and 12 d includes a first positionprotrusion 12 c protruding upward from the bottom of the first PCBaccommodation space 12 a, and a second position protrusion 12 dprotruding upward from the bottom of the second PCB accommodation space12 b. In addition, the position hole 17 a and 18 a includes: a firstposition hole 17 a which is formed in the first voice input PCB 17 andinto which the first position protrusion 12 c is inserted; and a secondposition hole 18 a which is formed in the second voice input PCB 18 andinto which the second position protrusion 12 d is inserted.

On the bottom of the PCB accommodation space 12 a and 12 b, there isformed an opening 12 e and 12 f. The opening 12 e and 12 f acts as ahole through which the harness cable 17 b and 18 b passes when the voiceinput PCB 17 and 18 is connected to the voice recognition PCB 40 a. Theopening 12 e and 12 f includes a first opening 12 d formed in the bottomof the first PCB accommodation space 12 a, and a second opening 12 fformed in the bottom of the second PCB accommodation space 12 b.

The opening 12 e and 12 f forms at least part of the slits 121 a and 121b formed in each of the first section SE1 and the second section SE2.The first PCB accommodation space 12 a is relatively lopsided toward theright side in the second slit 121 b formed in the second section SE2, soformed between the third support boss 122 c and the fourth support boss122 d in the second section SE2 to be disposed right nest to the fourthsupport boss 122 d. In addition, the second PCB accommodation space 12 bis relatively lopsided toward the left side in the first slit 121 aformed in the first section SE1, so formed between the first supportboss 122 a and the second support boss 122 b in the first section SE1 tobe disposed right next to the first support boss 122 a. Thus, when auser presses the window 1, the contact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and181 d may become easily operated as the window support plate 121 iselastically deformed.

The opening 12 e and 12 f is formed to have a width in front-and-reardirection, compared to the slit 121 a and 121 b. Since the voice inputPCB 17 and 18 is connected to the voice recognition PCB 40 a via theharness cable 17 b and 18 b, a connector 17 c and 18 c to be connectedto the voice recognition PCB 40 a is connected to the lower end of theharness cable 17 b and 18 b. The connector 17 c and 18 c needs to comeout from the bottom of the window support 12 through the opening 12 eand 12 f, so it is desirable that the connector 17 c and 18 c is formedto have a front-and-rear direction width wider than that of the slit 121a and 121 b.

The harness cable 17 b and 17 b includes a first harness cable 17 bconnecting the first voice input PCB 17 and the voice recognition PCB 40a, and a second harness cable 18 b connecting the second voice input PCB18 and the voice recognition PCB 40 a. In addition, the connector 17 cand 18 c includes a first connector 17 c coupled to the lower end of thefirst harness cable 17 b to be thereby connected to the voicerecognition PCB 40 a, and a second connector 18 c coupled to the lowerend of the second harness cable 18 b to be thereby connected to thevoice recognition PCB 40 a.

In the window 11, there is formed a voice passage hole 11 c and 11 dthrough which a user's voice passes from the upper side of the window 11to the lower side of the window 11. The voice passage hole 11 c and 11 dincludes a first voice passage hole 11 c formed in a front area withreference to the center of the window, and a second voice passage hole11 d formed in a rear area with reference to the center of the window11. The first voice passage hole 11 c guides voice to the first voiceinput PCB 17, and the second voice passage hole 11 d guides voice to thesecond voice input PCB 18.

The center portion of the window 11 is formed as a transparent area 11b, and the rest area other than the transparent area 11 b is formed asan opaque area 11 a. The transparent area is formed in size and shapecorresponding to the opening 12 h formed in the window support 12, andallows a screen output by the display panel 131 to pass therethrough.

The first voice passage hole 11 c is formed in an opaque area 11 a infront of the transparent area 11 b of the window 11, and the secondvoice passage hole 11 d is formed in an opaque area 11 a at rear of thetransparent area 11 b of the window 11.

In order to allow a user's voice to be easily input to the voice inputPCB 17 and 18, it is desirable that the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 dis formed at a position corresponding to the voice input PCB 17 and 18.In the voice input PCB 17 and 18, a voice input hole 17 d and 18 dthrough which a voice passing through the voice passage hole 11 c and 11d is formed at a position corresponding to the voice passage hole 11 cand 11 d. In the voice input PCB 17 and 18, it is desirable that amicrophone (not shown) is formed at the bottom surface in which thevoice input hole 17 d and 18 d is formed. The microphone amplifies avoice input through the voice input hole 18 d and 18 d to input thevoice to a soundwave conversion circuit of the voice input PCB 17 and18. That is, a user's voice passing through the voice passage hole 11 cand 11 d from the outside of the window 11 is input to the voice inputhole 17 d and 18 d formed in the voice input PCB 17 and 18, amplified bythe microphone, input to the soundwave conversation circuit of the voiceinput PCB 17 and 18, and converted into a soundwave signal readable bythe voice recognition PCB 40 a.

Between the window 11 and the window support 12, a gasket 17 e and 18 eis installed. The gasket 17 e and 18 e prevents a voice, having passedthrough the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d, from leaking via a gapbetween the window 11 and the window support 12, without flowing intothe voice input hole 17 d and 18 d of the voice input PCB 17 and 18.

The gasket 17 e and 18 e includes: a first gasket 17 e having an uppersurface brought closely in contact with the bottom surface of the window11 and a bottom surface brought closely into contact with the uppersurface of the first voice input PCB 17; and a second gasket 18 e havingan upper surface brought closely into contact with the bottom surface ofthe window 11 and a bottom surface brought closely into contact with theupper surface of the second voice input PCB 18. A communication hole 17f and 18 f includes: a first communication hole 17 f formed in the firstgasket 17 e to allow the first voice passage hole 11 c and the firstvoice input hole 17 d to communicate with each other; and a secondcommunication hole 18 f formed in the second gasket 18 e to allow thesecond voice passage hole 11 d and the second voice input hole 18 d tocommunicate with each other.

The gasket 17 e and 18 e may be formed in shape and size correspondingto the voice input PCB 17 and 18. The gasket 17 e and 18 e may be adouble-side tape bonded to the upper surface of the voice input PCB 17and 18. In this embodiment, the window 11 and the window support 12 arecoupled to each other using a double-side tape. Thus, when the window 11and the window support 12 is coupled to each other using a double-sidetape, the gasket 17 e and 18 e is desirably formed as a double-side tapein order to allow the voice input PCB 17 and 18 to be easily coupled tothe bottom surface of the window 11.

The communication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed in size larger than thatof the voice input hole 17 d and 18 d formed in the voice input PCB 17and 18. If the communication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed in sizesmaller than that of the voice input hole 17 d and 8 d, voice havingpassed through the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d is not able toeasily go inside the voice input hole 17 d and 18 d and thus voicerecognition may not be performed precisely. In addition, in the casewhere the communication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed in size smallerthan that of the voice input hole 17 d and 18 d or in size equal to thatof the voice input hole 17 d and 18 d, when voice having passed throughthe voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d passes through the communicationhole 17 f and 18 f, the gasket 17 e and 18 e slightly shapes due tovibration of the voice to thereby reduce adherence of the gasket 17 eand 18 e, and thus, the voice may leak through a gap between the window11 and the gasket 17 e and 18 e and a gap between the gasket 17 e and 18e and the voice input PCB 17 and 18. Thus, for precise voicerecognition, it is desirable that the communication hole 17 f and 18 fis formed in size larger than that of the voice input hole 17 d and 18 dformed in the voice input PCB 17 and 18.

In this embodiment, the voice input hole 17 d and 18 d is formed in sizeequal to that of the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d formed in thewindow 11. Thus, the communication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed in sizelarger than that of the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d formed in thewindow 11. In the case the communication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed insize equal to or smaller than that of the voice passage hole 11 c and 11d, when a voice having passed the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 dpasses through the communication hole 17 f and 18 f, the gasket 17 e and18 e slightly shakes due to vibration of the voice to thereby reduceadherence of the gasket 18 e and 18 e, and thus, the voice may leakthrough a gap between the window 11 and the gasket 17 e and 18 e and agap between the gasket 17 e and 18 e and the voice input PCB 17 and 18.Thus, for precise voice recognition, it is desirable that thecommunication hole 17 f and 18 f is formed in size larger than that ofthe voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d.

Meanwhile, the voice passage hole 11 c and 11 d is formed at a positioncorresponding to the voice input PCB 17 and 18. That is, since the firstvoice input PCB 17 is relatively lopsided to the right side withreference to the center of the window support plate 121, and the secondvoice input PCB 18 is relatively lopsided to the left side withreference to the center of the window support plate 121, one first voicepassage hole 11 c is formed as being relatively lopsided to the rightside with reference to the center of the window 11 in a front area ofthe center of the window 11, and one second voice passage hole 11 d isformed as being relatively lopsided to the left side of the center ofthe window 11 in a rear area of the center of the window 11. Thus,positions of the voice passage holes 11 c and 11 d are vertically andhorizontally symmetric with reference to the center of the window 11, soit may hinder exterior design of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

However, in the window 11 of this embodiment, two first deco holes 11 eare formed next to the first voice passage hole 11 c in theleft-and-right direction in front of the center of the window 11, andtwo second deco holes 11 f is formed next to the second voice passagehole 11 d in the left-and-right direction at rear of the center of thewindow 11.

The two first deco holes 11 e is formed on the left side of the firstvoice passage hole 11 c in the opaque area 11 a located in front of thetransparent area lib of the window 11, and the two second deco hole 11 fis formed on the right side of the second voice passage hole 11 d in theopaque area 11 a located at rear of the transparent area lib of thewindow 1.

The overall alignment of the first voice passage hole 11 c and the twofirst deco holes 11 e in the opaque area 11 a located in front of thetransparent area lib of the window is positioned at the center in theleft-and-right direction in the front area of the center of the window11. The overall alignment of the second voice passage hole 11 d and thetwo second deco holes 11 f in the rear area of the center of the window11 is positioned at the center in the left-and-right direction of thecenter of the window 11. Accordingly, the window 11 is vertically andhorizontally symmetrical to the center thereof, thereby improving theexterior design of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, since the voice input PCB 17 and 18 needs to be connected tothe harness cable 17 b and 18 b, a harness cable through-hole 152 g and152 h penetrated by the harness cable 17 b and 18 b is formed in thepartition 152 of the cover housing 15. It is desirable that the harnesscable through-hole 152 g and 152 h is formed at a position correspondingto a wide-width portion of the slit 121 a and 121 b formed in the PCBaccommodation space 12 a and 12 b so that the harness cable through-hole152 g and 152 h is disposed below the PCB accommodation space 12 a and12 b.

The upper end of the harness cable 17 b and 18 b is connected to thevoice input PCB 17 and 18. The lower end of the harness cable 17 b and18 b comes out of the bottom of the window support 12 through awide-width portion of the slit 121 a and 121 b formed in the PCB, comesout of the bottom of the partition 152 through the harness cable hole152 g and 152 h formed in the partition 152, and is then coupled to thevoice recognition PC 40 a installed on the upper surface of the mainbody 40.

The harness cable through-hole 152 g and 152 h includes: a first harnesscable through-hole 152 g penetrated by the first harness cable 17 bwhich is connected to the first voice input PCB 17; and a second harnesscable through-hole 125 h penetrated by the second harness cable 18 bwhich is connected to the second voice input PCB 18.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an upper surface of a main body.FIG. 25 shows a perspective view showing a bottom surface of the mainbody. FIG. 26 shows a front-side case (a) and a front-side case (b).FIG. 27 shows a rear surface of a main body. FIG. 28 is a diagramshowing positions of antennas connected to a Wi-Fi module. FIG. 29 is adiagram showing a position of an antenna connected to a Bluetooth moduleand a position of antenna connected to a Zigbee module. FIG. 30 is anexploded perspective view of a main body, a heatsink, a main PCB, a basebody, and a support rubber.

Referring to FIGS. 24 to 27, the voice recognition PCB 40 a is disposedon the upper surface of the main body 40. The voice recognition PCB 40 aanalyzes a soundwave signal, received from the voice input PCB 17 and18, to recognize a user's voice. The voice recognition PCB 40 a iscircuit-connected to the main PCB 48. The voice recognized by the voicerecognition PCB 40 a is input to a controller 240 of the main PCB 48. Ifa preset voice is include in the recognized voice received from thevoice recognition PCB 40 a, the controller 240 may communicate with adevice corresponding to the preset voice from among nearby devices 2, 3a, 3 b, and 5 via the communication module 50 so as to control a devicecorresponding to the preset voice in accordance of the recognized voice.

For example, if a user says “How is weather?” while operating one of thecontact switches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d by pressing the window,the user's voice is input to the voice input PCB 17 and 18. The voiceinput PCB 17 and converts the user's voice into a soundwave signalrecognizable by the voice recognition PCB 40 a, and the soundwave signalis input to the voice recognition PCB 40 a through the harness cable 152g and 152 h. The voice recognition PCB 40 a analyzes the soundwavesignal, received from the voice input PCB 17 and 18, and recognize theuser's voice as “How is weather?”. The voice “How is the weather”recognized by the voice recognition PCB 40 a is signaled and input tothe controller 240 of the main PCB 48. If a preset voice “Weather” isincluded in the voice “How is the weather” recognized by the voicerecognition PCB 40 a, the controller 240 may receive weather informationfrom the device capable of receiving weather information by controllinga device capable of receiving weather information through communicationwith the communication module 50 from among the nearby devices 2, 3 a, 3b, and 5 and a device capable of receiving weather information.

Accordingly, the controller 240 may display the weather information onthe display 13 and output the weather information in an audio formthrough the speakers 43 and 44.

In the upper surface of the main body 40, a front part is formed as aslope 41S having a front portion at a low height and a rear portion at ahigh height, and a rear part extending rearward from the front part maybe formed as a horizontal surface 42H. The slope 41S is disposedparallel to the window 11, the window support 12, and the partition 152.That is, the upper surface of the speaker case 41 and 42 defining theexterior appearance of the main body 40 may have a front part, which isformed as the slope 41S having a front portion at a low height and arear portion at a high height, and a rear part which is formed as thehorizontal surface 42H extending rearward from the slope 41S. The voicerecognition PCB 40 a may be installed at the rear part of the uppersurface of the main body 40, the rear part which is formed as ahorizontal surface.

The window 11, the window support 12, and the partition 152 is inclinedwith a low front height and a high rear height, Thus, when the cover iscoupled to the top of the main body 40, a space S for installation ofthe voice recognition PCB 40 a may be provided between the rear part,which is the horizontal surface 42H, of the upper surface of the mainbody 40 and the partition 152 (see FIG. 5). Thus, it is desirable thatthe voice recognition PCB 40 a is installed at the rear part which isformed as the horizontal surface 42H in the upper surface of the mainbody 40.

The speaker case 41 and 2 may include: a front case 41 defining thefront part of the main body 40; and a rear case coupled to the rear ofthe front case 41 to thereby define the rear experience of the main body40. Between the rear case 42 and the front case 41, there is formed acavity 49. The upper surface of the front case 41 is formed as a slope41S having a low front height and a high rear height, and the uppersurface of the rear case 42 is formed as a horizontal surface 42H. Thus,when the cover 10 is coupled to the top of the main body 40, a space Sfor installation of the voice recognition PCB 40 a is provided betweenthe partition 152 and the rear case 42. Thus, it is desirable that thevoice recognition PCB 40 a is installed at the upper surface of the rearcase 42. The voice recognition PCB 40 a may be mounted to the uppersurface of the rear case 42 using an adhesive member such as adouble-side tape.

In the front case 41, there may be formed a pair of sound output holewhich is formed to face the front and which vertically exposesdiaphragms (membranes) of the tweeter 43 and the woofer 44.

Case position protrusions 311 protruding rearward may be formed atmultiple points in an inner surface of the front case 41. In theembodiment, the case position protrusions 411 are formed at two pointson the let and right sides at a constant height, and the case positionprotrusions 411 are formed such that each pair of case positionprotrusions 411 is formed at three height points in the same mannerdescribed above. However, aspects of the present invention are notlimited thereto.

Insertion bosses 421 are formed in the rear case 42 at positionscorresponding to the case position protrusions formed in the front case41. Bolts passes through the respective insertion bosses 421 from therear of the rear case 42 to be fastened to the case position protrusions411.

A pair of fastening bosses 153 c and 153 d may be recessed rearward inthe front surface of the upper end holder 153 (see FIGS. 14 to 16). Apair of fastening bosses 153 a and 153 b are recessed rearward on theleft and right sides of the rear surface of the upper end holder 153.

To correspond to the fastening bosses 153 a, 153 b, 153 c, and 153 dformed in the cover housing 15, there may be formed first and secondboss insertion groove 415 and 415 in the front case 41 of the main body40, and third and fourth boss insertion grooves 425 and 426 in the rearcase 42 of the main body 40.

Referring to FIG. 24, the first and second boss insertion grooves 415and 416 are respectively recessed rearward from the front surface (asurface facing the front of the voice recognition apparatus 1) of thefront case 41, while the upper portions of the first and second bossinsertion grooves 415 and 416 are open so that the fastening bosses 153c and 153 d are inserted from above into the first and second bossinsertion grooves 415 and 416.

Referring to FIG. 27, the third and fourth boss insertion grooves 425and 427 are respectively recessed forward from the rear surface (asurface facing the rear of the voice recognition apparatus 1) of therear case 42, while the upper portions of the third and fourth bossinsertion grooves 425 and 427 are open so that the fastening bosses 153a and 153 b are inserted from above into the third and fourth bossinsertion grooves 425 and 427.

A fastening hole through which a bolt passes may be formed at each ofthe boss insertion grooves 415, 416, 425, and 426. Only a fastening hole416 h formed in the second boss insertion groove 416 is illustrated inthe drawings, but

When inserted into the boss insertion grooves 415, 416, 425, and 426,respectively, the fastening bosses 153 a, 153 b, 153 c, and 153 d mayreach positions corresponding to the fastening holes 415 h, 416 h, 425h, and 426 h and bolts may pass through the respective fastening holes415 h, 416 h, 425 h, and 426 h to be fastened to the fastening bosses153 a, 153 b, 153 c, and 153 d.

Referring to FIGS. 27 to 27, at least one communication module 50 may bedisposed in the main body 40. The communication module 50 may beconnected to a circuit of the main PCB 48 and/or the display PCB 14 andthereby controlled by the controller 240. In the embodiment, a Wi-Fimodule 50 a, a Bluetooth module 50 b, a Zigbee module 50 c are providedas the communication module 50. However, aspects of the presentinvention are not limited thereto, and a Z-wave module may be provide.

A module assembly 510 is a set of the Wi-Fi module 50 a and theBluetooth module 50 b, and may be disposed at the rear side of the mainbody 40. The module assembly 510 may be disposed in the rear case 42.

The module assembly 510 may be coupled to or separated from the rearcase 42 as one body. However, aspects of the present invention are notlimited thereto, and the Wi-Fi module 50 a and the Bluetooth module 50 bmay be provided separately and individually coupled to or separated fromthe main body 40.

The module assembly 510 may include a pair of antennas 511 a and 511 bwhich transmits and receives a signal. The pair of antenna 511 a and 511b is basically provided in the module assembly 510, but aspects of thepresent invention are not limited thereto and at least one antenna 521and 522 may be further provided at a position spaced apart from themodule assembly 510 (see FIGS. 27 to 29).

In the module assembly 510, there may be provided a first antennaconnection terminal 513 and a second antenna connection terminal 514 ofthe Wi-Fi module 50 a, and a antenna connection terminal 515 of theBluetooth module 50 b. In addition, a first antenna 521 and a secondantenna 522 may be provided in the left and right sides of the rear partin the inner surface of the side wall 151 of the cover housing 15. Thefirst antenna 521 may be connected to the first antenna connectionterminal 513 via a wire L1, and the second antenna 522 may be connectedto the second antenna connection terminal 514 via a wire L2.

Each of the first antenna 521 and the second antenna 522 is a conductorof a specific pattern coupled to a thin film. The wires L1 and L2 areconnected to the conductor.

The side wall 151 of the cover housing 15 is positioned in the upperside of the grill 20, and thus not surrounded by the grill 20. Thus, asthe first antenna 521 and the second antenna 522 are positioned on theside wall 151, signal interference from the metallic grill 20 isreduced, thereby enabling precise transmission and reception of asignal.

In addition, the side wall 151 may be formed such that the height of theupper end thereof becomes distal from the partition 152 in afront-to-rear direction. In this case, the rear part of the side wall151 may form a greater gap with the display PCB 14 mounted to thepartition 152, compared to the front part of the side wall 151. Thus, asthe first antenna 521 and the second antenna 522 are positioned in therear part of the side wall 151, it is possible to place the antennas 521and 522 more distal from the display PCB 14 and to reduce signalinterference caused by a magnetic field generated by a current flowingin a circuit of the display PCB 14.

Meanwhile, the Zigbee module 50 c may be provided at any one of the leftside and the right side of the main body 40. In the inner surface of thefront part of the side wall 151 of the cover housing 15, there may beprovided a third antenna 532 connected to an antenna connection terminal531 of the Zigbee module 50 c via a wire L3, and a fourth antenna 541connected to an antenna connection terminal 515 of the Bluetooth module50 b via a wire L4.

Each of the third antenna 532 and the fourth antenna 541 is a conductorof a specific pattern coupled to a thin film, and connected to theconductor via the wires L3 or L4. The third antenna 532 and the fourthantenna 541 may be attached to the side wall 151 of the cover housing 15by a double-side tape.

Referring to FIG. 30, the main PCB 48 may be disposed in a space formedbetween the main body 40 and the base 30. The main PCB 48 controlsoverall operation of the voice recognition apparatus. In the main PCB,there are mounted the controller 240, a USB port 62, a data transportport 64, a variety of switches, a receptacle, etc. In addition, the mainPCB 48 is circuit-connected to a variety of electronic devices, such asthe communication modules 50 a and 50 c, the display PCB 14, the tweeter43, and the woofer 44.

Between the main PCB 48 and the main body 40, there may be a heatsink33. The heatsink is a processed metal plate, and desirably formed ofaluminum. The heatsink 33 disperses heat, discharged from the pain PCB48, to an upper space (that is, a space between the bottom surface ofthe main body 40 and the heatsink 33).

A plurality of fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d may protrudefrom the bottom surface of the main body 40. A first fastening boss 45 aand a second fastening boss 45 b may protrude from the bottom surface ofthe rear case 42, and a third fastening boss 45 c and a fourth fasteningboss 45 d may protrude from the bottom surface of the front case 41. Thefastening bosses 4 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d may be coupled to the base30.

If the bottom surface of the main body 40 is partitioned by a horizontalline and a vertical line crossing the center of the bottom surface, thefastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d may be formed in the fourquadrants partitioned by the horizontal line and the vertical line.

In the base 30, there may be formed insertion bosses at positionsrespectively corresponding to the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and45 d. Each of the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d may beinserted into a corresponding insertion boss. When inserted into thecorresponding insertion boss, each of the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b,45 c, and 45 d may be fastened to a bolt passing upward through thecorresponding insertion boss.

A plurality of heatsink support bosses 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d may furtherprotrude from the bottom surface of the main body 40. The heatsinksupport bosses 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d may be disposed at positionsadjacent to the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d. In theembodiment, the heatsink support bosses 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d are formedin three out of the four quadrants, but the number of heatsink supportbosses is not limited thereto.

The heatsink 33 is a processed metal plate, and it is desirable that theheat sink 33 is formed of aluminum or stainless steel. However, anyother metal material may be used. The heatsink 33 may include ahorizontal flat board 3331 and a plurality of support tabs 332 b, 332 c,and 332 d extending from the circumference of the flat board 3331.

Through-holes 335 a, 335 b, 335 c, and 335 d respectively penetrated bythe fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d, and through-holes 334b, 334 c, and 334 d respectively penetrated by the support bosses 46 b,46 c, and 46 d may be formed in the flat board 3331.

The support bosses 46, 46 c, and 46 d may be coupled to the support tabs332 b, 332 c, and 332 d in the upper side of the main PCB 48. Thesupport tabs 332 b, 332 c, and 332 d may include a vertical portionextending downward from the flat board 3331, and a horizontal parthorizontally bent from the vertical part. A fastening hole through whicha bolt passes is formed in the horizontal part of each of the supporttabs 332 b, 332 c, and 332 d, and, after bolts pass upward through therespective fastening holes, the bolts may be fastened to the supportbosses 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d.

When the support bosses 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d are fastened to the supporttabs 332 b, 332 c, and 332 d, the flat board 3331 is spaced apart fromthe bottom surface of the main body 40, which is above the flat board3331, and the flat board 3331 is spaced apart from even the main PCB 48,which is below the flat board 3331. Since the flat board 3331 is spacedapart from the bottom surface of the main body 40, tapping noise causedby contact of the bottom surface of the main body 40 and the flat board3331 does not occur even when the main body 40 vibrates due tooutputting of the speakers 43 and 44.

In the main PCB 48, there may be formed through-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481c, and 481 d at positions respectively corresponding to thethrough-holes 335 a, 335 b, 335 c, and 335 d of the heatsink 33. Alength of each of the fastening boss 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d islonger than that of each of the support boss 46 b, 46 c, and 46 d. Thefastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d may pass through thethrough-holes 335 a, 335 b, 335 c, and 335 d of the heatsink 33 and thethrough-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481 c, and 481 d of the main PCB 48 and bethen inserted into insertion bosses of the base 30.

The base 30 may include: a base body 31 which has an open upper surfaceand in which a specific space is formed inside; and a support rubber 32which is fixed onto the bottom surface of the base body 31. The voicerecognition apparatus 1 is manufactured in a small size to allow a userto lift the voice recognition apparatus 1. The voice recognitionapparatus 1 may be placed in a floor, such as a table and a shelf. Thesupport rubber 32 provided at the bottom of the base body 31 increasesfriction against the floor so that the voice recognition apparatus 1 isprevented from falling down.

The insertion bosses formed in the base 30 protrude upward from theinner surface of the body 31, and through-holes (351 a, 351 b, 351 c,and 351 d respectively communicating with the insertion bosses may beformed in the base bottom of the base body 31.

After the main body 40 and the heatsink 33 are assembled, the fasteningbosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d are allowed to pass through thefastening boss through-holes 481 a, 481 b, 481 c, and 481 d formed inthe main PCB 48. Next, the fastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 dare inserted into the insertion bosses formed in the base 30. Next,bolts (not shown) are inserted into the fastening holes 351 a, 351 b,351 c, and 351 d from the bottom of the base 30 and fastened to thefastening bosses 45 a, 45 b, 45 c, and 45 d inside the insertion bosses.

FIG. 31 is a diagram schematically illustrating a smart home systemincluding a voice recognition server system and a voice recognitionapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 31, a smart home system 10 according to an embodimentof the present invention may be composed of a voice recognitionapparatus 1 including a communication module (not shown) to communicatewith another device or access a network; and a voice recognition serversystem 1100 including a plurality of server for voice recognition andhome appliance control.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 is an apparatus enabled torecognize voice.

In addition, the smart home system 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may include a mobile terminal (not shown), such as asmart phone and a tablet PC.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 includes a communication module insideto communicate with electronic devices inside/outside the smart homesystem 10.

The smart home system 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may further include an Access Point (AP) device 7, and thevoice recognition apparatus 1 may access a wireless internet network theAP device 7 to communicate with other devices.

The AP device 7 may allocate a wireless channel to electronic deviceslocated in the smart phone system 10 according to a specificcommunication scheme, and perform wireless data communication via thecorresponding channel.

The specific communication scheme may be a Wi-Fi communication scheme.In response, a communication module included in the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may be a Wi-Fi communication module, but aspects of thepresent invention are not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may include a differenttype of communication module or a plurality of communication modules.For example, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may include a near fieldcommunication (NFC) module, a Zigbee communication module, a Bluetoothcommunication module, etc.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may be connected, using a Wi-Ficommunication module, to a server included in the voice recognitionserver system 1100, an external server, or a user's mobile terminal, andmay support smart functions such as remote monitoring and remotecontrolling.

Using the mobile terminal, the user may check information about thevoice recognition apparatus 1 in the smart home system 10 or may controlthe voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, in order to control the voice recognition apparatus 1 orcheck specific information at home, the user needs to use the mobileterminal and this may be inconvenient.

For example, if the user does not know where the mobile terminal is nowor if the mobile terminal is in a difference place, it is more efficientto have another means for controlling the voice recognition apparatus 1in a different way.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may receive a user's voice input, and the voicerecognition server system 1100 may recognize and analyze the user'svoice input to control the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Accordingly, the user is able to control the voice recognition apparatus1 even without manipulating a mobile terminal, a remote control device,or the like.

Meanwhile, at least some of servers included in the voice recognitionserver system 1100 may be a server operated by a manufacturing orselling company of corresponding voice recognition apparatus or a serveroperated by a firm commissioned from the manufacturing or sellingcompany.

FIG. 32A shows an example of a voice recognition server system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 32A, a voice recognition server system according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a voice server 1110,which is configured to receive voice data from the voice recognitionapparatus 1 and determine a voice command by analyzing the receivedvoice data.

The voice server 1110 may receive voice data from the voice recognitionapparatus 1, convert the received voice data into text data, and analyzethe text data so as to determine a voice command.

In addition, the voice server 1110 may transmit a signal correspondingto the determined voice command to a specific server.

For example, the voice recognition server system according to anembodiment of the present invention may include: an associated serviceserver 1120 which receives a signal corresponding to the determinedvoice command from the voice server 1110 and generate a request signalcorresponding to the determined voice command; and a home appliancecontrol server 1130 which transmits a control signal, which is based onthe request signal received from the associated service server 1120, tothe voice recognition apparatus 1.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive a voice command inpututtered by a user, and transmit voice data based on the received voicecommand input to the voice server 1110.

The voice server 1110 may include: an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)server 111 configured to receive voice data from the voice recognitionapparatus 1 and convert the received voice data into text data; aNatural Language Processing (NLP) server 1112 configured to receive thetext data from the ASR server 1111, determine a voice command byanalyzing the received text data, and transmit a response signal basedon the determined voice command to the voice recognition apparatus 1;and a Text to Speech (TTS) server 113 configured to receive a signalincluding a text corresponding to the response signal from the voicerecognition apparatus 1, convert the text included in the receivedsignal into voice data, and transmit the voice data to the voicerecognition apparatus 1.

The NSR server 1111 may generate text data by performing voicerecognition on voice data received from the voice recognition apparatus1, and transmit the text data to the NLP server 1112.

The NLP server 1112 may determine a voice command by analyzing the textdata received from the ASR server 1111 according to a natural languageprocessing algorithm.

The NSP server 1112 may process natural language, commonly used byhumans, according to the natural language processing algorithm andanalyze a user's intent. The NLP server 1112 may determine a voicecommand coinciding with the user's intent, by performing naturallanguage processing on text data received from the ASN server 1111.

Accordingly, even though a user inputs a voice command with a commonlyused language, the NLP server 1112 may determine a voice command thatcoincides with the user's intent.

The NLP server 1112 may transmit a signal corresponding to a result ofnatural language processing, that is, a signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command, to the associated service server 1120.

The associated service server 1120 may receive the signal correspondingto the determined voice command from the NLP server 1112.

When the determined voice command is about the voice recognitionapparatus 1, the associated service server 1120 may perform an operationcorresponding to the determined voice command by communicating with thehome appliance control server 1130.

Alternatively, when the determined voice command is not about the voicerecognition apparatus 1, the associated service server 1120 may performan operation corresponding to the determined voice command bycommunicating with the external service 1121.

For example, when the determined voice command is a command forrequesting information on weather, stock, news, or the like, theassociated service server 1120 may request the requested correspondinginformation from a server which provides services corresponding to therequested information, and receive the requested information from theserver.

In addition, the associated service server 1120 may transmit thereceived information to the voice server 1110, and the NLP server 1112may transmit received information to the voice recognition apparatus 1.

When the determined voice command is about the voice recognitionapparatus 1, the associated service server 1120 may generate a requestsignal corresponding to the determined voice command and transmit therequest signal to the home appliance control server 1130.

The home appliance control server 1130 may transmit a control signal,which is based on the request signal received from the associatedservice server 1120, to the voice recognition apparatus 1.

For example, when a request for playing music is received form the voicerecognition apparatus 1, the home appliance control server 1130 maytransmit a control signal for playing music to the voice recognitionapparatus 1.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may perform a correspondingoperation in accordance with the control signal received from the homeappliance control server 1130.

In addition, after performing a requested operation, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may transmit a signal indicative of completionof the requested operation to the home appliance control server 1130.

In addition, the home appliance control server 1130 may receive aresponse signal from the voice recognition apparatus 1 in response tothe control signal, and transmit processing result informationcorresponding to the response signal to the associated service server1120.

The voice server 1110 may transmit the response signal, including theprocessing result information, to voice recognition apparatus 1.

The voice server 1110 may receive a signal, including an output textcorresponding to the processing result information, from voicerecognition apparatus 1, convert the received output text into voicedata, and transmit the voice data to the voice recognition apparatus 1.

In this case, the response signal transmitted by the NLP server 1112 tothe voice recognition apparatus 1 based on the determined voice commandmay include the processing result information.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive a responsesignal, which is based on the determined voice command, from the NLPserver 1112. The response signal may include text data corresponding tothe determined voice command.

For example, a user inputs a voice command to request playing music, theresponse signal may include text data indicating that music starts toplay.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a signalincluding a text corresponding to the received response signal to theTTS server 1113. The signal including a text corresponding to theresponse signal may include an output text corresponding to theprocessing result information.

Meanwhile, the TTs server 1113 may convert the text included in thereceived signal into voice data, and transmit the voice data to thevoice recognition apparatus 1. The voice data may include a source audiofile.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may output, through a speaker, anaudible guidance message which is based on the received voice data.

Meanwhile, the associated service server 1120 may request stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol server 1130 based on a signal corresponding to the determinedvoice command. The home appliance control server 1130 may transmit thestate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1 to the associatedservice server 1120. When the state information of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 is not secured, the home appliance control server 1130 mayrequest and receive the state information from the voice recognitionapparatus 1.

Meanwhile, when the determined voice command is supported based on thestate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, the associatedservice server 1120 may transmit a request signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command to the home appliance control server 1130.

Alternatively, when the determined voice command is not supported basedon the state information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, theassociated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLP server 1112, asignal for notifying that the determined voice command is about afunction not supported in the current state.

Even in this case, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request andreceive voice data from the TTS server 1113, and output an audibleguidance message for notifying that the determined voice command is afunction not supported in the current state.

In some implementations, the voice server 1110 may determine whether ornot the determined voice command is supported. For example, the NSPserver 1112 having analyzed the intent of the user's voice command maydetermine whether or not the determined voice command is supported.

In this case, if the determined voice command includes an unsupportedcommand, a response signal based on the determined voice command, thesignal which is transmitted by the NLP server 1112, may be a signalindicating that the determined voice command is a function not supportedby the voice recognition apparatus 1.

The voice server 1110 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, and the voice recognition server system 100 including thevoice server 1110 may connect and use servers which perform variousfunctions for processing of natural-language voice.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may perform operations from receivingand pre-processing of a voice command to transmitting the voice commandto a server, and the voice server 1110 may perform natural languageprocessing operations such as conversion of a voice/text, analysis of anintent, identification of a command, etc.

As the voice server 1110 performs natural-language processing, this mayreduce the burden on a CPU of an embedded module and a memory in thevoice recognition apparatus.

Meanwhile, the associated service server 1120 may perform an operationbased on a user's voice command by communicating with an externalservice server or a home appliance control server 1130.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive voice dataincluding an audio file from the voice server 1110 and output an audibleguidance message so as to provide an audible feedback in response to auser's voice input.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive a voice file from thevoice server 1110 via a streaming media, and playback or output anaudible guidance message to a user. Accordingly, the voice recognitionapparatus 1 does not need to store diverse audio files.

Meanwhile, via the associated service server 1120, it is possible to beassociated with various external services without colliding with otherservers. In addition, using the external service associated server, anintention analysis rate may be enhanced by reflecting externalinformation during intent analysis.

The voice recognition server system 1100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention may secure compatibility and connectivity using aplurality of servers. In addition, using the home appliance controlserver 1130, a final control command may prevent a collision between avoice recognition process and a home appliance controlling processperformed by the home appliance control server 1130 through Wi-Ficommunication, and a collision between a home appliance controllingprocessing through a mobile terminal and a home appliance controllingprocess upon a voice input through the voice recognition apparatus 1.

The voice recognition server system 1100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention may reduce the problem that loads are focused onone specific server, through organic connection of servers. Each serverperforms a different function, and thus, when a problem occurs in aspecific server, it is possible to address the problem by associatingwith a different server which performs the same function.

In addition, a plurality of servers may be updated independently fromtime to time, and it is advantageous in improving performance.

FIG. 32B shows an example of a voice recognition server system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

The voice recognition server system shown in FIG. 32B is an example ofthe voice recognition server system shown in FIG. 32A of which a processof transmitting voice data for outputting of an audible guidance messageto the voice recognition apparatus 1 has improved to reduce a voicecontrol response time.

Thus, the voice recognition server systems shown in FIGS. 32A and 32Bmay perform other operations substantially in the same way, and only theidentical parts between the two systems will be briefly described.

Referring to FIG. 32B, a voice recognition server system according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a voice server 1110configured to receive voice data from the voice recognition apparatus 1and analyze the received voice data to determine a voice command.

In addition, the voice recognition server system according to anembodiment of the present invention may include: an associated serviceserver 1120 configured to a signal corresponding to the determined voicecommand from the voice server 1110, and generate a request signalcorresponding to the determined voice command; and a home appliancecontrol server 1130 configured to transmit, to the voice recognitionapparatus 1, a control signal which is based on the request signalreceived from the associated service server 1120.

In the voice recognition server system shown in FIG. 32B, the voiceserver 1110 may transmit voice data, including processing resultinformation which is based on the voice command, to the voicerecognition apparatus 1 even without a request from the voicerecognition apparatus 1.

The voice server 1110 may include: an ASR server 11 configured toreceive voice data from the voice recognition apparatus 1 and convertthe received voice data into text data; a NLP server 1112 configured toreceive the text data from the ASR server 1111 and analyze the receivedtext data to determine a voice command; and a TTS server 1113 configuredto convert a response signal based on the voice command into voice dataand transit the voice data to the voice recognition apparatus 1.

In this embodiment, the home appliance control server 1130 may receive aresponse signal from the voice recognition apparatus 1 in response tothe control signal, and transmit processing result informationcorresponding to the response signal to the associated service server1120.

The associated service server 1120 may transmit the processing resultinformation to the voice server 1110, especially, the NLP server 1112.

In this case, the voice data transmitted by the TTS server 1113 to thevoice recognition apparatus 1 may include the processing resultinformation.

In addition, the associated service server 1120 may request stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol server 1130 based on a signal corresponding to the determinedvoice signal, and the home appliance control server 1130 may transmitthe state information of the voice recognition apparatus 1 to theassociated service server 120.

In addition, when the determined voice command is supportable based onthe state information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, theassociated service server 1120 may transmit a request signalcorresponding to the determined voice command to the home appliancecontrol server 1130.

Alternatively, when the determined voice command is not supported basedon the state information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, theassociated service server 1120 may transmit, to the voice server 1110, asignal for notifying that the determined voice command is a function notsupported in the current state.

For example, the associated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLPserver 1112, a signal for notifying that the determined voice command isabout a function not supported in the current state.

In addition, the NLP server 1112 may transmit, to the TTS server 1113, asignal for notifying that the determined voice command is about afunction not supported in the current state, and the TTS server 1113 maygenerate corresponding voice data and transmit the voice data to thevoice recognition apparatus 1.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive the voice data from theTTS server 1113, and output an audible guidance message for notifyingthat the determined voice command is about a function not supported inthe current state.

In some implementations, the voice server 1110 may determine whether ornot the determined voice command is supported. For example, the NLPserver 1112 having analyzed intent of a user's voice command maydetermine whether the determined voice command is supported.

In this case, if the determined voice command includes an unsupportedcommand, a response signal based on the determined voice command, thesignal which is transmitted by the NLP server 1112, may be a signalindicating that the determined voice command is a function not supportedby the voice recognition apparatus 1.

If the voice recognition apparatus 1 operates first and then requestsvoice guidance about a corresponding operation from the TTS server 1113in the last stage, there may be a time gap between performing of thecorresponding operation and outputting of the voice guidance.

However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, at a timewhen an operation request is transmitted from the NLP server 1112 aftercompletion of intent analysis, information may be simultaneouslyprovided to the TTS server 1113.

In addition, around when the home appliance control server 1130transmits a control command to the voice recognition apparatus 1 the TTSserver 1113 may provide an audible comment to the voice recognitionapparatus 1.

Accordingly, the audible comment may be output at the same time when orright after operation of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

According to this embodiment, by connecting the NLP server 1112 and theTTS server 1113 directly, it is possible to reduce an interval betweenoutputting of a control command and outputting of the audible commentvia the home appliance control server 1130.

Meanwhile, although the a voice recognition apparatus performing a hubfunction is described with reference to FIGS. 32A and 32B as an exampleof the voice recognition apparatus 1, aspects of the present inventionare not limited. For example, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may bethe robot cleaner, the refrigerator, the washing machine, the cookingappliance, a TV, a mobile terminal (a smart phone, a wearable device,etc.), a vehicle, a lighting device, a temperature adjusting device,etc.

According to one aspect of the present invention, unlike the examplesshown in FIGS. 32A and 32B, the NSR server 1111, the NLP server 1112,and the TTS server 1113 for voice recognition and processing may beconfigured as one integrated server.

In addition, in some implementations, the associated service server 1120and the home appliance control server 1130 may be configured as oneintegrated server.

According to the present invention, a voice recognition apparatusoperates upon a voice input, and thus, a user does not needs tomanipulate a remote control device, such as a remote controller, or amobile terminal, thereby improving user convenience.

In addition, as described above with reference to FIGS. 32A and 32B, thepresent invention recognizes a user's natural-language voice command andperforms a corresponding control operation, thereby enabled to recognizeand process a natural language without a limitation to system resourcesof a voice recognition apparatus and each server.

FIGS. 33 to 35 are diagrams illustrating a signal flow in a voicerecognition server system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the diagrams which shows a signal flow in the voicerecognition server system shown in FIG. 32A.

FIG. 33 shows an example of a signal flow in a general situation inwhich a voice recognition apparatus operates upon a user's voicecommand.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 is exemplified by the voicerecognition apparatus 1 in the following description, but aspects of thepresent invention are not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 33, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention, for example, the voice recognitionapparatus 1, may receive a user's voice command in S410, and transmitthe received voice command to the voice server 1110 in S420.

For example, when a command for changing temperature setting, forexample, “Play dance music” is received, the voice recognition apparatus1 may convert the received voice command into digital voice command in aspecific format, such as a wave file, and transmit the digital voicedata to the ASR server 1111.

Meanwhile, after receiving a wake up signal including a call word, thevoice recognition apparatus 1 may wait for a command and transmit aninput voice command to the voice server 1110.

Alternatively, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive successivevoice inputs including a call word and a voice command. In this case,the voice recognition apparatus 1 may recognize the call word andtransmit the voice command to the voice server 1110.

Signals transmitted and received via communication between devices inthe system 10 may further include identification information of each ofthe devices and a session value for a task to be performed, as well asmain data transmitted and received between the devices.

The ASR server 1111 may recognize the received voice data and convertthe voice data into text data in S431, and transmit the text data to theNLP server 1112 in S433.

The NLP server 1112 may analyze and determine the intent of the user'svoice command by performing natural language processing on the receivedtext data in S441.

For example, from a voice “Play dance music”, the NLP server 112 maydetermine a voice command intended to play dance music in the voicerecognition apparatus 1.

The NLP server 1112 may transmit a signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command to the associated service server 1120 in S443.

When the associated service server 1120 request the current stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol server 1130 in S451, the home appliance control server 1130 mayretrieve the current state information of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in S453 and transmit the current state information of thevoice recognition apparatus 1 to the associated service server 1120 inS455.

If the home appliance control server 1130 does not have the currentstate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, the homeappliance control server 1130 may request and receive the current stateinformation from the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, according to the determined voice command, the associatedservice server 1120 having received the state information may transmit,to the home appliance control server 1130, a request signal for playingdance music in the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S461.

The home appliance control server 1130 may control the voice recognitionapparatus 1 by generating a control signal and transmitting the controlsignal to the voice recognition apparatus 1 based on the request signalin S463.

In addition, after controlling the voice recognition apparatus 1, thehome appliance control server 1130 may receive a response signal fromthe voice recognition apparatus 1 in response to the control signal, andtransmits processing result information for notifying completion of arequested operation to the associated service server 1120 in S465.

The associated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLP server 1112,a signal corresponding to processing result information, for example,“Dance music starts to play” in S470. The NLP server 1112 may transmit,to the voice recognition apparatus 1, a response signal based on thedetermined voice command in S481. The response signal based on thedetermined voice command may include the processing result information.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a signalincluding a text (an output text) corresponding to the response signalin S483. When receiving the signal, the TTS server 1113 may convert thetext included in the received signal into voice data in S485, andtransmit the voice data to the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S487.

Based on the received voice data, the home appliance voice recognitionapparatus 1 may output an audible guidance message, such as “Dance musicstart to play” in S490.

FIG. 34 shows a signal flow in the case where a function not supportedby a corresponding voice recognition apparatus is requested.

Referring to FIG. 34, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention may receive a user's voice command,for example, “Turn on radio”, about a radio function not supported bythe voice recognition apparatus 1 in S510.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the received voicecommand to the voice server 1110 in S520. The voice recognitionapparatus 1 a may convert the received voice command into digital voicedata in a specific format, such as a wave file, and transmit the digitalvoice data to the ASR server 1111.

The ASR server 1111 may recognize the received voice data and convertthe voice data into text data in S531, and transmit the text data to theNLP server 1112 in S533.

The NLP server 1112 may perform natural language processing on thereceived text data to analyze and determine the intent of the voicecommand in S541.

In addition, the NLP server 1112 may determine whether or not thedetermined voice command is supported. In this embodiment, the NLPserver 1112 may determine that the user has requested a washing functionthat is not supported by the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Next, the NLP server 1112 may transmit, to the voice recognitionapparatus 1, a response signal for notifying that the determined voicecommand is about a function not supported by the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in S543.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a signalincluding a text (an output text) corresponding to the response signalin S551. When receiving the signal, the TTS server 1113 may convert thetext included in the received signal into voice data in S553 andtransmit the voice data to the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S555.

Based on the received voice data, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayoutput an audible guidance message, such as “It is not a supportedfunction”, in S560.

FIG. 35 shows a signal flow in the case where a request for a functionnot supported in the current operation mode of a corresponding voicerecognition apparatus is received.

Referring to FIG. 35, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention may receive a user's voice command,for example, “Record playing music”, indicating a specific modeoperation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S610.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the received voicecommand to the voice server 1110 in S620. The voice recognitionapparatus 1 may convert the received voice command into digital voicedata in a specific format, such as a wave file, and transmit the digitalvoice data to the ASR server 1111.

The ASR server 1111 may recognize the received voice data and convertthe voice data into text data in S631, and transmit the text data to theNLP server 1112 in S633.

The NLP server 1112 may analyze and determine the intent of the voicecommand by performing natural-language processing on the received textdata in S641.

For example, from a voice “Record playing music”, the NLP server 1112may determine a voice command intended to record playing music in thevoice recognition apparatus.

The NLP server 1112 may transmit a signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command to the associated service server 1120 in S643.

When the associated service server 1120 requests current stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol server 1130 in S651, the home appliance server 1130 may inquirethe current state information of the voice recognition apparatus 1 inS653 and transmit the current state information of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 to the associated service server 1120 in S655.

If the home appliance control server 1130 does not have the currentstate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, the homeappliance control server 1130 may request and receive the current stateinformation from the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, the associated service server 1120 having received thecurrent state information may be determined, based on the current stateinformation, whether the determined user command is supported in S657.For example, in the case where the voice recognition apparatus 1 isplaying music and a recording function is supported only in a recordingmode, the NLP server 1112 may determine that the user has requestedrecording of playing music, which is not supported in the current state.

Next, the associated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLP server1112, a response signal for notifying that the determined voice commandis about a function not supported by the voice recognition apparatus 1in the current state in S660.

In addition, the associated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLPserver 112, a response signal for notifying that the determined voicecommand is about a function not supported by the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in the current state in S671.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a signalincluding a text (an output text) corresponding to the response signalin S673. When receiving the signal, the TTS server 1113 may convert thetext included in the received signal into voice data in S675 andtransmit the voice data to the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S677.

Based on the received voice data, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayoutput an audible guidance message, such as “Recording of playing musicis not supported”, in S680.

FIGS. 36 to 38 are diagrams illustrating an example of a signal flow ina voice recognition server system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the diagrams which shows a signal flow in the voicerecognition server system shown in FIG. 32B.

FIG. 36 shows a signal flow in a general situation in which a voicerecognition apparatus operates upon a user's voice command.

Referring to FIG. 36, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention, for example, the voice recognitionapparatus 1, may receive a user's voice command in S710, and transmitthe received voice command to the voice server 1110 in S720.

The ASR server 1111 may recognize the received voice data and convertthe voice data into text data in S731, and transmit the text data to theNLP server 1112 in S733.

The NLP server 1112 may analyze and determine the intent of the voicecommand by performing natural language processing on the received textdata in S741.

For example, from a voice “Play dance music”, the NLP server 1112 maydetermine a voice command intended to play dance music in the voicerecognition apparatus 1.

The NLP server 1112 may transmit a signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command to the associated service server 1120 in S743.

When the associated service server 1120 requests current stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol server 1130 in S751, the home appliance control server 1130 mayinquire the current state information of the voice recognition apparatus1 in S753, and transmit the current state information of the voicerecognition apparatus 1 to the associated service server 1120 in S755.

If the home appliance control server 1130 does not have the currentstate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, the homeappliance control server 1130 may request and receive the current stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, according to the determined voice command, the associatedservice server 1120 having received the current state information maytransmit a request signal for playing dance music in the voicerecognition apparatus 1 to the home appliance control server 1130 inS761.

Based on the request signal, the home appliance control server 1130 maycontrol the voice recognition apparatus 1 by generating a control signaland transmitting the control signal to the voice recognition apparatus 1in S763.

In addition, after controlling the voice recognition apparatus 1, thehome appliance control server 1130 may receive a response signal fromthe voice recognition apparatus 1 in response to the control signal, andtransmit processing result information for notifying completion of arequested operation to the associated service server 1120 in S765.

The associated service server 1120 may transmit a signal correspondingto the processing result information, for example, “Dance music start toplay”, to the NLP server 1112 in S770.

Meanwhile, the NLP server 1112 may transmit a response signal based onthe determined voice command to the TTS server 1113 in S781. Theresponse signal based on the determined voice command may include theprocessing result information.

Meanwhile, the TTS server 1113 may convert the response signal based onthe voice command into voice data in S783, and transmit the voice datato the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S785.

Based on the received voice data, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayoutput an audible guidance message, such as “Dance music start to play”,in S790.

FIG. 38 shows an example of a signal flow in the case where a functionnot supported by a corresponding voice recognition apparatus isrequested.

Referring to FIG. 37, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention may receive a user's voice command,for example, “Turn on radio”, about a radio function that is notsupported by the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S810.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the received voicecommand to the voice server 1110 in S820. The voice recognitionapparatus 1 may convert the received voice command into digital voicedata in a specific format, such as a wave file, and transmit the digitalvoice data to the ASR server 1111.

The ASR server 1111 may recognize the received voice data into text datain S831, and transmit the text data to the NLP server 1112 in S833.

The NLP server 1112 may analyze and determine the intent of the voicecommand by performing natural language processing on the received textdata in S841.

In addition, the NLP server 1112 may determine whether or not thedetermined voice command is supported. In this embodiment, the NLPserver 1112 may determine that the user has requested a radio functionnot supported by the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Next, the NLP server 1112 may transmit, to the TTS server 1113, aresponse signal for notifying that the determined voice command is abouta function not supported by the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S843.

The TTS server 1113 may convert the response signal based on the voicedata in S845, and transmit the voice data to the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in S847.

Based on the received voice data, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayoutput an audible guidance message, such as “It is not a supportedfunction”, in S850.

FIG. 38 shows an example of a signal flow in the case where a functionnot supported in the current operation mode of a corresponding voicerecognition apparatus is requested.

Referring to FIG. 38, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention may receive a user's voice command,for example, “Record playing music”, indicating a specific modeoperation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S910.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the received voicecommand to the voice server 1110 in S920. The voice recognitionapparatus 1 may convert the received voice command into digital voicedata in a specific file, such as a wave file, and transmit the digitalvoice data to the ASR server 1111.

The ASR serer 1111 may recognize the received voice data and convert thevoice data into text data in S931, and transmit the text data to the NLPserver 1112 in S933.

The NLP server 1112 may analyze and determine the intent of the voicecommand by performing natural language processing on the received textdata in S941.

For example, from a voice “Record playing music”, the NLP server 1112may determine a voice command intended to record playing music in thevoice recognition apparatus 1.

The NLP server 1112 may transmit a signal corresponding to thedetermined voice command to the associated service server 1120 in S943.

When the associated service server 1120 requests current stateinformation of the voice recognition apparatus 1 from the home appliancecontrol serer 1130 in S951, the home appliance control server 1130 mayinquire the current state information of the voice recognition apparatus1 in S953, and transmit the current state information of the voicerecognition apparatus 1 to the associated service server 1120 in S955.

If the home appliance control server 1130 does not have the currentstate information of the voice recognition apparatus 1, the homeappliance control server 1130 may request and receive the current stateinformation from the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, based on the received current state information of the voicerecognition apparatus 1, the associated service server 1120 maydetermine whether the determined voice command is supported in S957. Forexample, in the case where the voice recognition apparatus 1 playingmusic and a recording function is supported only in a recording mode,the NLP server 1112 may determine that the user has requested therecording mode which is not supported in the current state.

Next, the associated service server 1120 may transmit, to the NLP server1112, a response signal for notifying that the determined voice commandis a function not supported by the voice recognition apparatus 1 in thecurrent state, in S960.

In addition, the NLP server 1112 may transmit, to the TTS server 1113, aresponse signal indicating that the determined voice command is afunction not supported in the current state in S971.

Meanwhile, the TTS server 1113 may convert the response signal based onthe voice command into voice data in S973, and transmit the voice datato the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S975.

Based on the received voice data, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayoutput an audible guidance message, such as “Recording of playing musicis not supported” in S980.

According to the present invention, it is possible to implement userexperience where an appropriate audible comment is provided when auser's command is failed to be interpreted or the user's command isabout an unavailable function.

By providing voice guidance in an appropriate time and situation duringcommand processing, it is possible to minimize user inconvenience.

FIG. 39 is an internal block diagram of an example of a server accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, and the server 1100 may bethe ASR server 1111, the NLP server 1112, the TTS server 1113, theassociated service server 1120, or the home appliance control server1130.

Referring to FIG. 39, the server may include a communication module2020, a storage unit 2030, and a processor 2010.

The processor 2010 may control overall operation of the server.

The communication module 2020 may diverse data, such as stateinformation, operation information, manipulation information, voicedata, and text data, from the voice recognition apparatus 1 or adifferent server.

In addition, the communication module 2020 may transmit original orprocessed data corresponding to the received diverse informationcorresponding thereto to voice recognition apparatus 1 or a differentserver.

To this end, the communication module 2020 may include one or morecommunication modules, such as an Internet module, and a mobilecommunication module.

The storage unit 2030 may store received information, and have datarequired for generating result information corresponding to the receivedinformation.

The storage unit 2030 may store data required for operation of acorresponding server. For example, the storage unit 2030 may store anautomatic voice recognition algorithm in the case of the ASR server1111, and may store product information and state information of thevoice recognition apparatus 1, and information for controlling the homeappliance voice recognition apparatus 1 in the case of the homeappliance control server 1130.

Meanwhile, the server may be a server administered by a manufacturer ofvoice recognition apparatus 1, such as an air conditioner, or by aservice provide, and the server may be a kind of Cloud server.

FIG. 40 is an interior block diagram illustrating an example of a voicerecognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 40, the voice recognition apparatus 1 according to anembodiment of the present invention may include: an audio input unit 220configured to receive a user's voice command; a memory 250 configured tostore diverse data; a communication module 50 configured to performwireless communication with another electronic device; an output unit290 configured to display specific information in the form of an imageor sound; and a controller 240 configured to control overall operations.

The audio input unit 220 may receive an external audio signal, such as auser's voice command. To this end, the audio input unit 220 may includeone or more microphones (MIC). In addition, to more accurately receive auser's voice command, the audio input unit 220 may include a pluralityof microphones 221 and 222. The plurality of microphones 221 and 222 maybe spaced apart from each other and configured to acquire an externalaudio signal and process the external audio signal into an electricsignal.

FIG. 40 shows the case where the audio input unit 220 includes twomicrophones, a first microphone 221 and a second microphone 222, butaspects of the present invention are not limited thereto.

The audio input unit 220 may include or be connected to a processor,which converts analog sound into digital data, so as to convert a user'svoice command into data so that the controller 240 or a specific serveris able to recognize the user's voice command.

Meanwhile, the audio input unit 220 may utilize various noise removalalgorithms for removing noise that occurs in the process of receivingthe user's voice command.

In addition, the audio input unit 220 may include components for audiosignal processing: for example, a filter for removing noise from anaudio signal received by each of the microphones 221 and 222, and anamplifier for amplifying a signal output from the filter and output theamplified signal.

The memory 250 may record diverse information necessary for operation ofthe voice recognition apparatus 1, and include a volatile ornon-volatile recording medium. A recording medium may storemicroprocessor-readable data, and may include a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), aSolid State Disk (SSD), a Silicon Disk Drive (SDD), a ROM, a RAM, aCD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device,and the like.

Meanwhile, the memory 250 may store data for voice recognition, and thecontroller 240 may process a user's voice input signal received via theaudio input unit 220, and perform a voice recognition process.

Meanwhile, the simple voice recognition may be performed by the voicerecognition apparatus 1, and complicated voice recognition, such asprocessing a natural language, may be performed by the voice recognitionserver system 1100.

For example, when a wake up voice signal including a preset call word isreceived, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may be switched into a statefor receiving a voice command. In this case, the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may perform voice recognition processes up to determinationas to whether a call word voice is input, and other subsequent processesregarding the user's voice input may be performed by the voicerecognition server system 1100.

System resources of voice recognition apparatus 1 are limited, and thus,complicated recognition and processing of natural language recognitionmay be performed by the voice recognition server system 1100.

The memory 250 may store limited data. For example, the memory 250 maystore data for recognizing a wake up voice signal including a presetcall word. In this case, the controller 240 may recognize the wake-upvoice signal including the preset call word from a user's voice inputsignal received via the audio input unit 220.

Meanwhile, a call word may be set by a manufacturer. For example, a callword may be set to be “LG Hub”.

In addition, a call word may be changed by a user.

The controller 240 may perform a control operation so as to transmit auser's voice command, which is input after recognition of a wake upvoice signal, to the voice recognition server system 1100 via thecommunication module 50.

Meanwhile, on the contrary, the controller 240 may activate a voicerecognition function in response to operation of any one of the contactswitches 181 a, 181 b, 181 c, and 181 d. While the voice recognitionfunction is activated, the controller 240 may perform control totransmit a received user's voice command to the voice recognition serversystem 1100 through the communication module 50.

The communication module 50 may include one or more communicationmodules and transmit and receive various signals through wirelesscommunication with another electronic device. For example, thecommunication module 50 may communication with electronic devicesinside/outside a mart home system 10.

In addition, the communication module 50 may communicate with the APdevice 7, and access a wireless Internet network via the AP device 7 tocommunicate with other devices.

In addition, the controller 240 may transmit state information of thevoice recognition apparatus 1 and a user's voice command to the voicerecognition server system 1100 via the communication module 50.

Meanwhile, when a control signal is received via the communicationmodule 50, the controller 240 may control the voice recognitionapparatus 1 to operate in accordance with the received control signal.

The output unit 290 may include a display 13, which displays informationcorresponding to a user's command input, a processing resultcorresponding to the user's command input, an operation mode, anoperation state, and an error state in the form of an image.

In some implementations, the display 13 may form an inter-layeredstructure with a touch pad to implement a touch screen. In this case,the display 13 may be used as an input device through which informationcan be input upon a user's touch, as well as an output device.

In addition, the output unit may further include an audio output unit291 configured to output an audio signal. Under the control of thecontroller 240, the audio output unit 291 may output a warning sound, aoperation state, a notification message indicative of an error state,information corresponding to a user's command input, and a processingresult corresponding to the user's command input, and the like in theform of sound. The audio output unit 291 may convert an electric signalfrom the controller 240 into an audio signal, and output the audiosignal. To this end, the audio output unit 291 may include a speaker.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may further include amanipulation unit 181 for receiving a user's input, and a camera 210capable of capturing an image of an area within a specific range of thevoice recognition apparatus 1.

The manipulation unit 181 may include a plurality of manipulationbuttons, and transmit a signal corresponding to a pushed button to thecontroller 240.

The camera 210 may capture an image of an ambient or surroundingenvironment of the voice recognition apparatus 1, and a plurality ofsuch cameras may be installed at each part for photographing efficiency.

For example, the camera 210 may include at least one optical lens, animage sensor (e.g., a CMOS image sensor) configured with a plurality ofphotodiodes (e.g., pixels) on which an image is formed by lights passingthrough the optical lens, and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)configured to form an image based on signals output from thephotodiodes. The DSP may generate not just a still image, but also avideo composed of frames which constitute still images.

Meanwhile, an acquired image captured by the camera 210 may be stored inthe memory 250.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may store afirst voice recognition algorithm and transmit a voice command to theserver system 1100 in S1010.

The server system 1100 may receive the voice command through thecommunication module 2020, and the voice command may be stored in thestorage 2030 as user voice information in S1031.

Meanwhile, the user voice information may be user characteristic dataabout a user's voice tone, voice intensity, voice speed, frequently-usedkeyword, gender, age, biometric information, regional dialect, etc.

The server system 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of theuser voice information stored in the server system 1100 in S1032, andgenerate first voice recognition algorithm-related update data throughthe machine learning in S1033.

Meanwhile, the first voice recognition algorithm may be an algorithm analgorithm for recognizing a wake-up voice signal including a preset callword, or an algorithm for recognizing a preset keyword consisting ofrelatively simple words.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data from the server system 1100 inS1050. In addition, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request thefirst voice recognition algorithm-related update data through anapplication of an external mobile terminal.

In response to a request from the voice recognition apparatus 1 or amobile terminal, the serer system 1100 may transmit the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data to the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in S1070. Meanwhile, even without a request from the voicerecognition apparatus 1 or a mobile terminal, the serer system 1100 mayperiodically or non-periodically transmit the first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit update historyinformation, and the server system 1100 may transmit update data notcolliding with existing update data to the voice recognition apparatus 1by analyzing the history information of the voice recognition apparatus1.

Meanwhile, if a plurality of home appliances exists in the voicerecognition system 1010, the plurality of home appliances may exchangeinformation with each other through a communication module (not shown).

In this case, at least one home appliance may receive firmware updatedata of the plurality of home appliances from the voice recognitionapparatus 1.

That is, in addition to update data on its own, the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may receive update data for updating at least one nearbyhome appliance and transmit the received update data to thecorresponding home appliance.

In one example, if an air conditioner, a robot cleaner, and arefrigerator exist in the voice recognition system 1010, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may receive first update data on the airconditioner from the server system 1100 and transmit the first updatedata to the air conditioner. Accordingly, firmware update may beperformed in the air conditioner.

In another example, if an air conditioner, a robot cleaner, and arefrigerator exist in the voice recognition system 1010, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may receive first update data on the airconditioner and second update data on the refrigerator from the serversystem 1100, and transmit the first update data and the second updatedata to the air conditioner and the refrigerator, respectively.Accordingly, firmware update may be performed in the air conditioner andthe refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may update the first voicerecognition algorithm stored in the voice recognition apparatus 1, basedon the first voice recognition algorithm-related update data in S1090.The memory of the voice recognition apparatus 1 can store the firstvoice recognition algorithm-related update data, and when the firstvoice recognition algorithm-related update data is received, thecontroller of the voice recognition apparatus 1 provides a menu forsetting an update start time. Also, the controller in the voicerecognition apparatus 1 can control the first voice recognitionalgorithm, which is stored in the memory, to be updated at a set time.

The first voice recognition algorithm may be a user voice recognitionalgorithm which is generated through machine learning on the basis ofthe user voice information stored in the server system 1100.

Thus, a user is able to use a voice recognition algorithm suitable forthe user's characteristics, and therefore, voice recognition performancemay improve.

In addition, as a voice recognition algorithm suitable for a user'scharacteristics is periodically or non-periodically updated, it ispossible to use a voice recognition algorithm optimized for the user'scharacteristics.

In addition, it is possible to solve a problem that updating a voicerecognition algorithm stored in a module is more difficult than updatinga voice algorithm stored in a server.

In addition, it is possible to quickly respond to a simple command byrecognizing a keyword, regardless of the server system 1100, whilekeeping advantages of the natural language processing.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receivea voice command through a microphone and transmit the voice command tothe server system 1100. The server system 1100 may collect a pluralityof voice commands in S910, and the plurality of voice commands may bestored in the storage 2030 as user voice information in S930.

The server system 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of theuser voice information in S950. In this case, a machine learningalgorithm may be any one of the following: Neural Network, DecisionTree, Genetic Algorithm, Genetic Programming, Gaussian processregression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbor,Perceptron, Radial basis function network, Support Vector Machine, andDeep Learning.

For example, the voice recognition information may be predicted byperforming supervised learning on initial user voice information andthen performing unsupervised learning on user voice information input tothe voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, when the server system 1100 is a voice recognition system1100, a server performing machine learning may be at least one of aplurality of servers belonging to the voice recognition system 1100.

The server system 1100 may generate voice recognition-related updatedata, which is generated through machine learning on the basis of theuser voice information, in S970 and update a voice recognition algorithmbased on the voice recognition-related update data in S990.

Accordingly, user recognition-related update data, which is updated tofit a user's characteristics by learning user voice information, andtherefore, a voice recognition apparatus and system optimized for eachuser may be provided.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition algorithm may be a first or secondvoice recognition algorithm.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may perform machine learning withrespect to multiple users of the voice recognition apparatus 1.

The server system 1100 may perform machine learning with respect to themultiple users, and use update data related to a voice recognitionalgorithm, which is generated based on the machine learning, as updatedata for an individual user.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may update a first voicerecognition algorithm for an individual user based on update datarelated to a voice recognition algorithm for the correspondingindividual user. Accordingly, a voice recognition algorithm customizedfor each of the multiple users may be provided.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may perform machine learning withrespect to a frequent user. The server system 1100 may perform machinelearning with respect to a frequency user, and generate voicerecognition-related update data based on the machine learning.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive the voicerecognition-related update data for the frequency user. The voicerecognition apparatus 1 may update a first voice recognition-relatedupdate data based on the received voice recognition-related update data.Accordingly, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may provide a voicerecognition algorithm for the frequent user.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a voicecommand to the serer system 1100, and the server system 1100 may storefrequently-used voice commands by counting voice commands.

In addition, the server system 1100 may generate second voicerecognition algorithm-related update data by selecting a specific numberof frequently-used voice commands, and update the second voicerecognition algorithm based on the generated update data.

In addition, the server system 1100 may generate first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data by selecting a specific number offrequently-used voice commands, and transmit the generated update datato the voice recognition apparatus 1.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive update dataregarding a frequently-used voice command, and update a first voicerecognition algorithm based on the received update data. Thus, a user'svoice command patterns of natural-language voice commands may beidentical or similar, and the voice recognition apparatus 1 may processa frequently-used voice command on its own. Accordingly, operationcontrol speed may improve.

For example, a natural-language command such as “Turn on energy savingfunction” is frequently used, the server system 1100 may generate firstvoice recognition algorithm-related update data and transmit thegenerated update data to the voice recognition apparatus 1. The voicerecognition apparatus 1 may receive the update data and update the firstvoice recognition algorithm. Then, the voice recognition apparatus 1 isable to quickly respond to the user's voice “Turn on energy savingfunction”

In addition, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit eveninformation on a frequently-used function to the server system 1100.Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may generate improved voicerecognition-related update data by analyzing the frequently-used voicecommand and the information on the frequently-used function.

FIG. 43 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of FIG. 41.

Referring to the drawing, a user may input a voice command to the voicerecognition apparatus 1 in 1110.

Meanwhile, the voice command may be a wake-up voice including a presetcall word or a preset keyword consisting of relatively simple words.

In one example, the voice command may be a wake-up voice such as “LGHub”. In another example, the voice command may be a keyword voicecommand such as “Power off”. In yet another example, the voice commandmay be a natural-language voice command such as “Turn on energy savingfunction”.

Having received the user's voice through the microphone 221 or 222, thevoice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the voice command through theAP device 7 to the server system 1100 connected to an external networkin 1130.

The server system 1100 may generate first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data through machine learning on the basis ofthe voice command.

In addition, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request the firstvoice recognition algorithm-related update data from the server system1100 in 1150.

The server system 1100 may transmit the update data related to the voicerecognition algorithm in response to the request for update data fromthe voice recognition apparatus 1 in 1170.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmita voice command to the server system 1100 in S1210, and the serversystem 1100 may receive the voice command through the communicationmodule 2020.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may be provided with a storage unit2030, and the storage unit 2030 may store a second voice recognitionalgorithm. In addition, the storage unit 2030 may store the voicecommand, received from the voice recognition apparatus 1, as user voiceinformation in S1231.

Meanwhile, the user voice information may be user characteristic data onthe user's voice tone, voice intensity, voice speed, frequently-usedkeyword, gender, age, biometric information, regional dialect, etc.

The server system 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of theuser voice information stored in the storage unit 2030 in S1232, and theserver system 1100 may generate second voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data through the machine learning in S1233.

Meanwhile, the second voice recognition algorithm may be a voicerecognition algorithm for recognition of a natural-language voicecommand.

The server system 1100 may update the second voice recognition algorithmstored in the server system 1100 based on the second voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data in S1234.

Meanwhile, the user may utter a natural-language voice command such as“Turn on energy saving function”. The voice recognition apparatus 1 maytransmit the received natural-language voice command to the serversystem 1100 in S1250.

The server system 1100 may recognize the natural-language voice commandbased on the second voice recognition algorithm in S1270, and convertthe recognized natural-language voice command into text format voicedata in S1235.

The server system 1100 may transmit the text-format voice data to thevoice recognition apparatus 1 in S1290.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may control operation of its own basedon the text format voice data in S1220. For example, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may operate an energy saving function of thevoice recognition apparatus in response to a user's voice “Turn onenergy saving function”.

The second voice recognition algorithm may be a user voice recognitionalgorithm which is generated through machine learning on the basis ofthe user voice information stored in the server system 1100.

Thus, a voice recognition algorithm is updated through the server system1100, so integrated update management is possible.

In addition, a natural-language voice recognition algorithm may beupdated relatively easily through the server system 1100, and it ispossible to process various natural languages through periodic update.

FIG. 45 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of FIG. 44.

Referring to the drawing, a user may input a voice command to the voicerecognition apparatus in S1310.

Meanwhile, the voice command may be a wake0up voice including a presetcall word, or a preset keyword consisting of relatively simple words. Inaddition, the voice command may be a natural-language voice command.

In one example, the voice command may be a wake-up voice such as “LGHub”. In another example, the voice command may be a keyword voicecommand such as “Power off”. In yet another example, the voice commandmay be a natural-language voice command such as “Turn on energy savingfunction”.

Having received the voice command through the microphone 221 or 222, thevoice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the voice command through theAP device 7 to the server system 1100 connected to an external networkin 1330.

The server system 1100 may generate second voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data through machine learning on the basis ofthe voice command.

The server system 1100 may update the second voice recognitionalgorithm, stored in the server system 1100, based on the second voicerecognition algorithm-related update data.

Meanwhile, the user may utter a natural-language voice command such as“Play music” in 1311. The natural-language voice command may be receivedthrough the microphone 221 or 222 of the voice recognition apparatus 1,and the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit the natural-languagevoice command through the AP device 7 to the server system 1100connected to an external network in 1350.

The server system 1100 may recognize the natural-language voice commandbased on the second voice recognition algorithm, and convert therecognized natural-language voice command into text format voice data.

The server system 1100 may transit the text format voice data to thevoice recognition apparatus 1 in 1370.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may control operation of the voicerecognition apparatus 1 based on the text format voice data. Forexample, if a natural-language voice command of “Play music” isreceived, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may execute a music playbackfunction.

Meanwhile, generating first voice recognition algorithm-related updatedata and generating second voice recognition algorithm-related updatedata may be performed at the same time.

Meanwhile, updating a voice recognition algorithm may be at least one ofupdating the first voice recognition algorithm or updating the secondvoice recognition algorithm.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmita voice command to the server system 1100 through a microphone.

The server system 1100 may collect a plurality of voice commands inS1410, and the plurality of voice commands may be stored in the storage2030 as user voice information in S1430.

Meanwhile, the user voice information may include user characteristicdata dependent upon regional language difference. The server system 1100may classify user regional voice information by regional languagedifference in the user voice information in S1431. The regional languagedifference may be exemplified by dialect, intonation, accent, tone,vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.

In one example, the server system 1100 may store standard patterns ofregional language difference in advance, compare an input user voice andthe standard patterns of the regional language difference, and classifythe user voice as a voice of a similar pattern. The classified uservoice may become user regional voice information.

In another example, the server system 1100 may store modelscorresponding to regional language difference, and classify an inputuser voice on the basis of: a probability that a series corresponding tothe input user voice is observed from the models corresponding toregional language difference; a probability that the input user voice istransitioned; a probability that a series output occurs in response totransition of the input user voice; etc.

In yet another example, the server system 1100 may store a referenceparameter corresponding to regional language difference, extract afeature parameter from an input user voice, and classify the user voiceby comparing the feature parameter with the reference parameter.

Meanwhile, in the case where dialect related to regional languagedifference is not stored in the server system 1100, when voice commandsare received from a plurality voice recognition apparatuses, the serversystem 1100 may receive regional information of the corresponding voicerecognition apparatuses 1 and learn dialect received from voicerecognition apparatuses 1 belonging to the same region. In doing so, theserver system 1100 may classify the voice command as dialect of thecorresponding region.

The server system 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of theuser voice command in S1450. For example, the server system 1100 mayperform a machine leaning process on the basis of the user's voice tone,voice intensity, voice speed, frequently-used word, gender, age, etc.

In addition, the server system 1100 may perform a machine learningprocess based on user regional voice information that is classified fromthe user voice information in S1451. For example, the server system 1100may perform a machine learning process based on dialect, intonation,accent, tone, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. In this case, a machinelearning algorithm may be any one of the following: Neural Network,Decision Tree, Genetic Algorithm, Genetic Programming, Gaussian processregression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbor,Perceptron, Radial basis function network, Support Vector Machine, andDeep Learning.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may perform machine learning withrespect to multiple users of the voice recognition apparatus 1. Theserver system 1100 may perform machine learning with respect to themultiple users, and classify voice recognition-related update data,which is generated through the machine learning, for individual users.

The server system 1100 may generate user voice recognition-relatedupdate data through machine learning on the basis of user voiceinformation in S1470, and update a user voice recognition algorithmbased on the user voice recognition-related update data in S1490.

The server system 1100 may generate user regional voicerecognition-related update data through machine learning on the basis ofuser regional voice information in S1471, and update a user regionalvoice recognition-related algorithm based on the user regional voicerecognition-related update data in S1491.

The server system 1100 may generate a user specific voicerecognition-related update data through machine learning on the basis ofuser characteristic information, and update a user specific voicerecognition algorithm based on the user specific voicerecognition-related update data.

Accordingly, it is possible to a problem of voice recognitiontechnologies that the same voice recognition performance cannot beachieved using one software due to variation of recognition depending ona regional language.

In addition, out of the user characteristic data, a voice recognitionmodule specialized in recognition of regional language difference may beprovided.

FIG. 47 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of FIG. 46.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may store afirst voice recognition algorithm and transmit the voice command to thesever system 1100 in S1510.

The server system 1100 may receive the voice command through thecommunication module 2020, and the voice command may be stored in thestorage unit 2030 as user voice information in S1531.

When a regional voice recognition function is not activated, the serversystem 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of user voiceinformation, as shown in FIG. 41, and the server system 1100 maygenerate first voice recognition algorithm-related update data throughmachine learning.

When the regional voice recognition function is activated, the serversystem 1100 may store classify user regional voice information from theuser voice information and store the user regional voice information inthe storage 2030 in S15133.

When the regional voice recognition function is activated, the serversystem 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of the userregional voice information in S1534, and the server system may generatefirst voice recognition algorithm-related update data through machinelearning in S1535.

Meanwhile, the first voice recognition algorithm may be an algorithm forrecognizing a wake-up voice signal including a preset call word, or analgorithm for recognizing a preset keyword consisting of relativelysimple words.

Meanwhile, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data from the server system 1100 inS1550. In addition, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may request thefirst voice recognition algorithm-related update data through anapplication of an external mobile terminal.

Meanwhile, without a request from the voice recognition apparatus 1 or amobile terminal, the server system 1100 may periodically ornon-periodically transmit the first voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data.

The manipulation unit 181 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayreceive an input signal of the update data. For example, themanipulation unit 181 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive aselection signal of at least one of first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data generated through machine learning on thebasis of user voice information or first voice recognitionalgorithm-related to update data generated through machine learning onthe basis of user regional voice information.

In response to a request from the voice recognition apparatus 1 or amobile terminal, the server system 1100 may transmit the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data to the voice recognitionapparatus 1 in S1570.

For example, in response to a update request signal input by a user, theserver system 1100 may selectively transmit first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data generated through machine learning on thebasis of user voice information or first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data generated through machine learning on thebasis of user regional voice information.

In this case, depending a user input, the voice recognition apparatus 1may update, based on the first voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data, the first voice recognition algorithm stored in the voicerecognition apparatus 1 in S1591.

For example, if a user selects the first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data generated through machine learning on thebasis of user voice information, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayreceive the generated first voice recognition algorithm-related updatedata and update a first voice recognition algorithm based on thereceived first voice recognition algorithm-related update data.

For example, if a user selects the first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data generated through machine learning on thebasis of user regional voice information, the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may receive the generated first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data and update a first voice recognitionalgorithm based on the received first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may transmit both the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data generated through machinelearning on the basis of user voice information, and the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data generated through machinelearning on the basis of user regional voice information. In this case,the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive a command for use of atleast one of a user voice recognition algorithm or a user regional voicerecognition algorithm through the manipulation unit 181 in S1592, anduse a corresponding algorithm.

For example, if a user selects the user regional voice recognitionalgorithm, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may recognize the user'svoice using the user regional voice recognition algorithm in S1593.

Thus, the first voice recognition algorithm may be a user regional voicerecognition algorithm that is generated through machine learning on thebasis of user regional voice information dependent upon regionallanguage difference out of user voice information stored in the server.

FIG. 48 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of FIG. 46.

Referring to the drawing, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmita voice command to the server system 110—in S1610, and the server system1100 may receive the voice command through the communication module2020.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may further include the storage unit2030, and the storage unit 2030 may include a second voice recognitionalgorithm. In addition, the storage unit 2030 may store the voicecommand, received from the voice recognition apparatus 1, as user voiceinformation in S1631.

When a regional voice recognition function is not activated, the serversystem 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of user voiceinformation, as shown in FIG. 44, and the server system 1100 maygenerate second voice recognition algorithm-based update data throughmachine learning.

When the regional voice recognition function is activated, the serversystem 1100 may classify user regional voice information from the uservoice information and store the user regional voice information in thestorage unit 2030 in S1633.

When the regional voice recognition function is activated, the serversystem 1100 may perform machine learning on the basis of the userregional voice information in S1634, and the server system 1100 maygenerate second voice recognition algorithm-related update data throughmachine learning in S1635.

Meanwhile, a second voice recognition algorithm may be a voicerecognition algorithm for recognizing a natural-language voice command.

The server system 1100 may update the second voice recognitionalgorithm, stored in the server system 1100, based on the second voicerecognition algorithm-related update data in S1636.

The manipulation unit 181 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayreceive an input signal of a voice recognition algorithm.

For example, the manipulation unit 181 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may receive an input signal of at least one of a secondvoice recognition algorithm generated through machine learning on thebasis of user voice information or a second voice recognition algorithmgenerated through machine learning on the basis of user regional voiceinformation. A user input is allowed any time before a user utters avoice.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit a user's input signal tothe server system 1100 in S1650. Thus, depending on the user' inputsignal, a user voice recognition algorithm or a user regional voicealgorithm of the server system 1100 may be selectively used.

Meanwhile, the user may utter a natural-language voice command such as“Turn on energy saving function”. The voice recognition apparatus 1 maytransmit the received natural-language voice command to the serversystem 1100 in S1670.

The server system 1100 may recognize the natural-language voice commandbased on the second voice recognition algorithm in S1620, and convertthe recognized natural-language voice command into text format voicedata in S1640.

For example, if a user selects a second voice recognition algorithmwhich is generated through machine learning on the basis of user voiceinformation, a natural-language voice command may be recognized usingthe second voice recognition algorithm generated through machinelearning on the basis of user voice information and the recognized voicecommand may be converted into text format voice data.

For example, if a user selects a second voice recognition algorithmwhich is generated through machine learning on the basis of userregional voice information, a natural-language voice command isrecognized using the second voice recognition algorithm generatedthrough machine learning on the basis of user regional voice informationand the recognized voice command may be converted into txt format voicedata.

Thus, the second voice recognition algorithm may be a user regionalvoice recognition algorithm which is generated through machine learningon the basis of user regional voice information dependent upon regionallanguage difference out of user voice information stored in a server.

Meanwhile, the server system 1100 may transmit the text format voicedata to the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S1690.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may control operation of the voicerecognition apparatus 1 based on the text format voice data in S1660.For example, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may execute an energysaving function of the voice recognition apparatus 1 in response to auser's voice “Turn on energy saving function”.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a voicerecognition apparatus and a voice recognition system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the memory 250 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may store version information of the current installed firstvoice recognition algorithm update, and the voice recognition apparatus1 may request the version information from the server system 1100 inS1710.

In addition, even the storage unit 2030 of the server system 1100 maystore version information of voice recognition algorithm update data,and even the server system 1100 may request update version informationfrom the voice recognition apparatus 1 in S1710.

Requesting or transmitting update version information may be donenon-periodically or may be done at a predetermined interval on the basisof one or more of a hour unit, a day unit, a week unit, a month unit,and a year unit.

In response to the request for the update version information from theserver system 1100, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may transmit theupdate version information to the server system 1100 in S1730.

In response to the request for the update version information from thevoice recognition apparatus 1, the server system 1100 may transmit theupdate version information to the voice recognition apparatus 1 inS1730.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may receive version information of afirst voice recognition algorithm update, which is stored in a server,from the server, and may compare the received version information withversion information stored in the memory 250 in S1750.

If the comparison shows that the version information stored in thememory 250 is not the latest version, the voice recognition apparatus 1may request the server system 1100 to transmit first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data in S1770.

If the comparison shows that the version information stored in thememory 250 is the latest version, the voice recognition apparatus 1 doesnot request update transmission.

Since the voice recognition apparatus 1 is able to keep the first voicerecognition algorithm with the latest version, voice recognition may beimproved using the latest voice recognition algorithm.

FIG. 50 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of FIG. 49.

Referring to the drawing, the memory 250 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may store version information of the current installed firstvoice recognition algorithm update. For example, the version informationstored in the memory 250 may be “4.4.2”.

Meanwhile, even the storage unit 340 of the server system 1100 may storeversion information of the current installed first voice recognitionalgorithm update. For example, the version information stored in thestorage unit 340 may be “5.0”.

The controller 240 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 may requestupdate version information from the server system 1100 through the APdevice 7 in 1810.

In response to the request for the update version information from thevoice recognition apparatus 1, the server system 1100 may transmit theupdate version information to the voice recognition apparatus 1 in 1830.

The controller 240 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receiveversion information of a first voice recognition algorithm update, whichis stored in the server system 1100, from the server system 1100 and maycompare the received version information with version information storedin the memory 250.

If the version information received from the server system 1100 is thelatest version, the controller 240 may request first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data from the server system 1100 in 1850. Forexample, in the case where version information stored in the memory 250is “4.4.2” and version information received from the server system 1100is “5.0”, the received version information is the latest version, andtherefore, the controller 240 may request first voice recognitionalgorithm-related update data from the server system 1100.

In the case where the version information stored in the server system1100 is the latest version and a request for transmission of update datais received from the voice recognition apparatus 1, the server system1100 may transmit first voice recognition algorithm-related update datato the voice recognition apparatus 1 in 1870.

Accordingly, the voice recognition apparatus 1 is able to keep the firstvoice recognition algorithm with the latest version all the time.

FIGS. 51A to 51C are diagrams for explaining the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the voice recognition apparatus 1 may receivea keyword voice command such as “LG Hub, playing music record mode” 1910(a first voice command), as shown in FIG. 51A. Having received the voicecommand through the microphone 221 or 222, the controller 221 or 222,the controller 240 of the voice recognition apparatus 1 may performcontrol to output a message for requesting re-inputting of a command,such as “Please speak again” 1911 through the audio output unit 291.

As shown in FIG. 51B, the controller 240 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may request first voice recognition algorithm-related updatedata from the server system 1100 in 1940. In response to the request forthe update data from the voice recognition apparatus 1, the serversystem 1100 may transmit the first voice recognition algorithm-relatedupdate data in 1950.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may update a first voice recognitionalgorithm, stored in the memory 250, based on the first voicerecognition algorithm-related update data. For example, the voicerecognition apparatus 1 may be provided with a first voice recognitionalgorithm whose performance has improved after the first voicerecognition algorithm update.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 51C, the voice recognition apparatus 1 mayreceive a keyword voice command of “LG Hub, playing music record mode”1960 (a first voice command) at a second time (T=t3), as it does at thefirst time (T=t1). Having received a voice command through themicrophone 221 or 222, the controller 240 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may recognize a voice command based on a first voicerecognition algorithm.

The voice recognition apparatus 1 may control operation of its own byrecognizing a voice command. For example, the controller 240 mayrecognize a user's voice “LG Hub, playing music record mode” 1960 at thesecond time (T=t3) and operate the voice recognition apparatus 1 in theplaying music record mode.

In addition, the audio output unit 291 of the voice recognitionapparatus 1 may output a processing result corresponding to a voicecommand. For example, as shown in FIG. 51C, in response to a user'svoice “LG Hub, playing music record mode”, the audio output unit 291 mayoutput sound such as “Recording of playing music start”.

The voice recognition apparatus and the voice recognition systemaccording to the present invention are not limited to the configurationsand methods of the above embodiments, and the embodiments may vary asall or some of the embodiments are selectively combined.

The operation method of the voice recognition apparatus according to thepresent invention may be implemented as code which is provided in thevoice recognition apparatus and which can be written on acomputer-readable medium in which a program is recorded and thus read bya computer. The computer-readable medium includes all kinds of recordingdevices in which data is stored in a computer-readable manner.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternatives uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A voice recognition apparatus comprising: amicrophone configured to receive a voice command; a memory configured tostore a first voice recognition algorithm; a communication deviceconfigured to transmit the voice command to a server system and receiveupdate data regarding the first voice recognition algorithm from theserver system; and a controller electrically connected to thecommunication device and the memory, and configured to perform controlto update the first voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in thememory, based on the update data regarding the first voice recognitionalgorithm, wherein the memory stores the update data regarding the firstvoice recognition algorithm, wherein when the update data regarding thefirst voice recognition algorithm is received, the controller isconfigured to update the first voice recognition algorithm stored in thememory based on the update data regarding the first voice recognitionalgorithm, wherein the first voice recognition algorithm includes avoice recognition algorithm for recognizing a call word or a keyword,and wherein when the update data regarding the first voice recognitionalgorithm is received, the controller provides a menu for setting anupdate start time.
 2. The voice recognition apparatus according to claim1, wherein the controller requests the update data regarding the firstvoice recognition algorithm from the server system.
 3. The voicerecognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory stores atleast one of version information, history information, or a build numberof a current installed first voice recognition algorithm update.
 4. Thevoice recognition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controllerreceives version information of a first voice algorithm recognitionalgorithm update, which is stored in the server system, compares thereceived version information with the version information stored in thememory, and, when the received information is a latest version, requeststhe update data regarding the first voice recognition algorithm from theserver system.
 5. The voice recognition apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the controller controls the first voice recognition algorithm,which is stored in the memory, to be updated at a set start time.
 6. Thevoice recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: anaudio output device configured to output at least one of informationcorresponding to the voice command or a processing result correspondingto the voice command.
 7. The voice recognition apparatus according toclaim 6, wherein the controller controls operation of the voicerecognition apparatus, by outputting a message for requestingre-inputting command through the audio output device in response to afirst voice command which is input at a first time and, after the firstvoice recognition algorithm update, recognizing the first voice commandwhich is input at a second time.
 8. The voice recognition apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the controller controls operation of thevoice recognition apparatus by recognizing the voice command based onthe first voice recognition algorithm.
 9. The voice recognitionapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first voice recognitionalgorithm includes a voice recognition algorithm generated throughmachine learning based on the voice command.
 10. A voice recognitionsystem comprising: a voice recognition apparatus configured to store afirst voice recognition algorithm and transmit a voice command; and aserver system comprising a storage device configured to store a secondvoice recognition algorithm, a communication device configured toreceive the voice command, and a processor electrically connected to thecommunication device and the storage device, and configured to recognizethe voice command based on the second voice recognition algorithm,wherein the server system transmits first update data regarding thefirst voice recognition algorithm to the voice recognition apparatus,and updates a second voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in theserver system, based on second update data regarding the second voicerecognition algorithm, wherein the voice recognition apparatus updatesthe first voice recognition algorithm, which is stored in the voicerecognition apparatus, based on the first update data regarding thefirst voice recognition algorithm, and wherein the voice recognitionapparatus comprises a memory configured to store the first update dataregarding the first voice recognition algorithm; and a controllerelectrically connected to the memory, and configured to, when the firstupdate data regarding the first voice recognition algorithm is received,update the first voice recognition algorithm stored in the memory basedon the update data regarding the first voice recognition algorithm,wherein the first voice recognition algorithm includes a voicerecognition algorithm for recognizing a call word or a keyword, andwherein when the first update data regarding the first voice recognitionalgorithm is received, the controller provides a menu for setting anupdate start time.
 11. The voice recognition system according to claim10, wherein at least one of the first or second voice recognitionalgorithm is a user voice recognition algorithm that is generatedthrough machine learning on the basis of voice information stored in theserver system.
 12. The voice recognition system according to claim 11,wherein at least one of the first or second voice recognition algorithmis a user regional voice recognition algorithm that is generated throughmachine learning on the basis of user regional voice informationdependent upon regional language difference out of the voice informationstored in the server system.
 13. The voice recognition system accordingto claim 10, wherein the second voice recognition algorithm includes avoice recognition algorithm for recognizing a natural language voicecommand.
 14. The voice recognition system according to claim 10, whereinthe first voice recognition algorithm includes a voice recognitionalgorithm generated through machine learning based on the voice command.